Uroseius (Apionseius) durjodhanai, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kontschán, JenŐ
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Polyaspididae
Uroseius
Uroseius durjodhanai

description: Uroseius (Apionseius) durjodhanai sp. nov.
(Figs 1–9)
Material examined. Holotype. Female. India, Kollangod, Palghat District, Kerala, a few kms from Sirvani, netted in grasses, 27 March 1980, Gy. Topál coll. (HNHM). Paratypes. One male, one female in MHNG, four females and four males in HNHM. Locality and date as for holotype.
Description. Female. Length of idiosoma 600–640 µm, width 340–420 µm (n=6). Shape oval, caudally rounded.
Dorsal idiosoma (Fig. 1). Dorsal shield completely separated from reduced marginal shield. Dorsal shield scutiform, 360–370 µm long, 250–260 µm wide, covered by irregular pits, bearing smooth needle-like setae (ca. 25–30 µm). Marginal shields divided into separate rounded platelets, each bearing one smooth and needle-like setae (ca. 29–32 µm). Pygidial shield divided into two large lateral quadrangular plates and a small triangular central plate. Pygidial plates covered by irregular pits, without bearing setae. A pair of smooth and needle like setae located on rounded platelets between dorsal shield and pygidial plates. Other areas of dorsal idiosoma covered by membranous cuticle.
Ventral idiosoma (Fig. 2). Sternal shield weakly sclerotised, its surface mostly smooth, only anterior area has H-shaped strongly sclerotised groove. Five pairs of smooth and needle-like sternal setae (ca. 10–11 µm) present, St1 situated near anterior margin of sternal shield,inserted on strongly sclerotised area. St2 located between coxae III, St3 and St4 near basal edges of genital shield, St5 situated posterior to genital shield. Inguinal shields present, covered by irregular pits, without setae. Anal shield rhomboid, its surface smooth and bearing two pairs of adanal setae (ca. 10–13 µm) and one postanal seta (ca. 15 µm). One pair of ventral shields present on caudal area, their surface irregularly pitted, without setae. Two pairs of smooth and needle-like setae (ca. 19–22 µm) without platelets situated between two inguinal shields, three pairs of long smooth setae (ca. 29–32 µm) placed on small platelets situated between inguinal, anal and caudal shields. Pedofossae absent. Genital shield linguliform, anteriorly rounded, its surface without ornamentation. Stigmata situated between coxae III and IV, peritremes straight, with short post-stigmatal parts (Fig. 3). Tritosternum with wide base, laciniae apically divided into three short smooth branches (Fig. 4).
Gnathosoma (Fig. 4). Hypostomal setae h1 (ca. 56 µm) and h3 (ca. 62 µm) smooth and long, h2 short (ca. 22 µm) and smooth, h4 short (ca. 18 µm) and marginally pilose. Ventral surface of hypostome bearing seven rows of denticles. Palp trochanter with one pilose and one smooth seta, other setae on palp smooth. Corniculi horn-like, internal malae smooth, shorter than corniculi. Epistome marginally serrate (Fig. 4). Fixed digit of chelicera longer than movable digit.
Legs. Each leg with claws on tips of tarsi, all setae on legs smooth and needle-like (Figs 5–8).
Male. Length of idiosoma 520–550 µm, width 270–320 µm (n=5). Shape and dorsal idiosoma as in female.
Ventral idiosoma (Fig. 13). Surface of sternal shield smooth, five pairs of needle-like sternal setae (ca. 7–8 µm) present. St1 placed near anterior margin of sternal shield, St2 at level of posterior margin of coxae II, St3 at central level of coxae III, St4 at level of posterior margin of coxae III, St5 near posterior margin of sternal shield. Position and shape of ventral setae and ornamentation of ventral shield as in female. Genital shield oval, without sculptural pattern, situated between coxae III and IV.
Gnathosoma as in female.
Etymology. The new species is named for Durjodhana, the descendant of the Kuru, the legendary king, who was an ancestor of many Kuaravas in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata.
Notes. Because the second hypostomal setae reach the insertion of first hypostomal setae and the pygidial shield is separated from the dorsal shield, I placed the new species into the subgenus Uroseius (Apionseius) Berlese. Most species from this subgenus have an entire pygidial shield; the new species is similar to U. (A.) infirmus (Berlese) which has a divided pygidial shield. The differences between these species are shown in Table 1.
description: Published as part of Kontschán, JenŐ, 2012, New Uropodina mites from India (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 25-44 in Zootaxa 3518 on pages 25-27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3518.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/210709