Nilotonia (Telotaolana) longipalpis Goldschmidt 2008, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Goldschmidt, Tom
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Actinedida
Anisitsiellidae
Nilotonia
Nilotonia longipalpis

description: Nilotonia (Telotaolana) longipalpis sp. nov.   
(Figs 77–86, Table 4)  
 Type series: Holotype male, MD 100 a, Ankaratra (Antananarivo), Reserve Manjakatompo, Mont Arirana, spring area exposition south-east (drainage Rivière Ambodimangavo), 2200 m asl, 13.5 °C, 1–9 µS/cm, 05.10.2001, mounted; paratype, same locality and date, 0/1/0 mounted.   
 Habitat: Spring at 2200 m asl.   
 Distribution: Madagascar (Central Highlands, Ankaratra mountains).   
 Derivatio nominis: Longipalpis; referring to the very long and slender palps of the species.   
 Diagnosis: Within subgenus a relatively weakly sclerotized, large species; dorsum bearing large rounded posterior plate and two smaller rhombic anterior plates; integument undulated with irregular lines; venter with extended secondary sclerotization, in both sexes not fused into complete ventral shield; coxal field compact; genital field very slender, elongated-oval, acetabula relatively large, oval, touching each other; legs long and slender; claws on leg-I to -III with one strong ventral clawlet, leg-IV bearing many strong and slender setae; palp very large and slender, especially P2 and P4 elongated, ventral seta at P2 directed obliquely towards distal.   
 Description, male (n = 1): Idiosoma rounded (Fig. 77); dorsum mainly covered by three relatively large, slightly purple-greyish plates, posterior plate nearly rounded (L/W 657/638, Fig. 78), including (far laterally) Dgl-5, -6 and Lgl-4, anterior plates oblique rhombic, medially approximate (L/W 363/216), bearing post-ocular setae (Fig. 78); Dgl-2, -3 anterior and antero-lateral of anterior plates, Dgl-4 laterally between anterior and posterior plates; one pair of small platelets anterior Dgl-3; setae of Dgl-3 to -5 mid-sized, setae of other glandularia small (Fig. 78); Dgl-1, lateral eyes (oval, separated on both sides, free under integument, partly lost in preparation) and three platelets (central, elongated one shown in Fig. 77) frontally between dorsum and venter (Fig. 77); soft integument around and between dorsal plates irregularly lined, undulated (Fig. 78); Lgl-1 to -3 as well as lyrifissures in soft integument between dorsum and venter; coxal field large (Table 4), medial margin of Cx-III relatively straight, medial margin of Cx-III and Cx-IV slightly extended by secondary sclerotization; medial margin of Cx-IV straight, caudal margin curved, oblique (medially nearly hook-shaped, Vgl-3 lying in indentation lateral of hook, included in secondary sclerotization); Cx-IV caudally and laterally extended by secondary sclerotization (Fig. 77); Cxgl-2 fused with anterior margin of Cx-III, Cxgl-4 at the anterior margin of Cx-III, setae of Cxgl-4 minute (Fig. 77); genital field slender, elongated-oval, anteriorly slightly tapering, lateral margins convex, anteriorly and posteriorly smoothly rounded; acetabula mid-sized, thick-walled, rectangular-oval, touching each other, Ac1 distant from anterior margin of genital flaps, Ac3 slightly distant from posterior margin; pre-genital sclerite broad bow-shaped with triangular central protrusion, as wide as genital flaps, post-genital sclerite large, laterally and caudally greatly extended by secondary sclerotization, setae of Vgl-1 free in lateral indentations of post-genital sclerite (Fig. 77); Vgl-2 on large, irregular platelets; Vgl-4 and Lgl-3 on mid-sized platelets; one pair of mid-sized platelets anterior to Vgl-4, one pair of small platelets antero-lateral of Lgl-3; excretory pore without sclerotization (Fig. 77); legs slender, bearing several large setae, leg segments long; claws on leg-I to -III with one larger ventral clawlet, leg-II-6 distally with several very tiny hair-like setae (Fig. 79), leg-IV-4, -5 bearing many strong (some very long) setae, leg-IV-6 distally tapering, with two small, peg-like terminal setae and one mid-sized sub-terminal seta (Figs 80, 81); capitulum compact (Fig. 82), palps very long and slender (Figs 82, 83, Table 4), P1 with one dorsal seta, P2 elongated, with sharp pointed ventral seta on small, cone-shaped protrusion, directed oblique to latero-distally, and seven pinnate dorsal setae, P3 with two lateral and two medio-dorsal setae, P4 long, proximally straight, distally down-curved, ventral setae in distal half on several small protrusions, P5 compact cone-shaped (Figs 82, 83).   
 Female (n = 1): Secondary sclerotization generally weaker than in male (Fig. 84); posterior dorsal plate smaller (L/W 540/510), no glandularia included; two pairs of small platelets lateral to large plate, between Dgl-4 and -5, anterior to Lgl-4; Dgl-6 on antero-laterally extended platelet (Fig. 85); medial margin of Cx-I slightly longer; Cx-III medially less approached, more rounded, medial margin of Cx-IV concave, genital bay consequently anteriorly wider, Cx-IV slenderer; genital field further anterior, larger, caudally broader; postgenital sclerite smaller; Vgl-2 and -4 as well as Lgl-3 less extended by secondary sclerotization, only one pair of postero-ventral platelets, anterior Vgl-4 (Fig. 84); leg-IV without very long setae (Fig. 86); gnathosoma as in male.   
 Remarks: The shape and degree of secondary sclerotization of the venter of Nilotonia (Telotaolana) longipalpis is similar to the character state of N. violacea from East Africa; also in that species, a weaker sclerotization has been described in the female than in the male (Lundblad 1952). However the new species from Madagascar is differentiated from N. violacea by: Vgl-3 included in the secondary sclerotization of Cx-IV; additional postero-ventral platelets are present; dorsal platelets are by far larger; claws of leg-I to -III lack dorsal clawlets; palps are slenderer. Nevertheless, Nilotonia violacea could be regarded as the “closest continental relative” of the species of the new subgenus N. (Telotaolana) from Madagascar.   
 Nilotonia (Telotaolana) longipalpis is most similar to N. (Telotaolana) kiraro . The main differences to the latter are: Palps slenderer; idiosoma larger; dorsal plates and post-genital plate smaller (at least in the female sex); antero-dorsal plates different in shape (elongated sandal-shaped in N. kiraro); and legs slenderer, especially leg-IV which also bears smaller, slenderer setae.
description: Published as part of Goldschmidt, Tom, 2008, Taxonomical, ecological and zoogeographical studies on anisitsiellid water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Anisitsiellidae Koenike, 1910) from Madagascar, pp. 1-120 in Zootaxa 1954 (1) on pages 40-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1954.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5240917