Oplitis hallidayi Kontschán 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kontschán, Jenő
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Oplitidae
Oplitis
Oplitis hallidayi

description: Oplitis hallidayi sp. nov.   
(Figs 5–8)   Material examined   
 Holotype: female. New Caledonia, Mount Panié, c. 400–500 m above sea level, moss from rock and tree, 2 June 1986. Leg. J. Balogh (HNHM). Paratypes: two females in NHMG and one female, one male, one deutonymph in HNHM. Locality and date same as in those holotype.    Description of female   
 Length of idiosoma 1090–1210 µm, width 880–910 µm (n = 4). Shape of idiosoma oval.   
 Dorsal side (Figure 5A). Marginal and dorsal shields fused anteriorly. All setae on dorsal and marginal shields smooth and needle-like (c.18–23 µm), placed on small protuberances (Figure 5B). Dorsal and marginal shields without sculptural pattern.   
 Ventral side (Figures 5C and 8A). Sternal setae short (c.18–22 µm), smooth and needle-like, with several supplementary setae (10–12 pairs), their position presented in Figure 4C. Surface of sternal shield smooth. Ventral shield without sculptural pattern, but reticulate pattern can be found between pedofossae of legs III and IV and near posterior margin of pedofossae of legs IV. Pedofossae deep, with smooth surface, without deep furrows for tarsi IV. All ventral setae (22–24 pairs) smooth and needle-like (c.18–23 µm). Adanal setae similar in shape and length to ventral setae, postanal seta absent. Genital shield oval, without any process, pattern, and perigenital line. Genital shield placed between coxae II and IV. Peritremes (Figures 5D and 8B) R-shaped.   
 Tritosternum (Figure 6A) with narrow basis, tritosternal laciniae divided into three marginally pilose branches.   
 Gnathosoma (Figure 6B). Corniculi horn-like, internal malae divided into marginally pilose branches. Hypostomal setae h1 short (c.23 µm) and smooth, h2 (c.30 µm), h3 (c.80 µm) and h4 (c.35 µm) marginally pilose. Epistome marginally pilose (Figure 6C). Fixed digit of chelicerae bearing two teeth and longer than movable digit, cheliceral nodes and dorsal seta present (Figure 6D). Palp trochanter with one smooth and one serrate seta, other setae on palp smooth.   
 Legs (Figure 6E–H). Bearing smooth and simple setae, the first legs with ambulacral claws.    Description of male   
 Length of idiosoma 1140 µm, width 860 µm (n = 1). Shape and dorsal aspect of idiosoma same as in female.   
 Ventral side (Figure 7A). Sternal setae short (c.10–12 µm), smooth and needle-like, with several supplementary setae (10 pairs). Surface of sternal shield smooth. Genital shield circular, without sculptural pattern and situated between coxae III. Ventral setation, processes of gnathosoma and legs same as in female. Two pairs of lyriform fissures situated at level of coxae II.    Description of deutonymph   
 Length of idiosoma 1020 µm, width 810 µm (n = 1). Shape and dorsal aspect of idiosoma same as in female.   
 Ventral side (Figure 7B). Sternal setae short (c.12–15 µm), smooth and needle-like, with several supplementary setae (10 pairs). Surface of sternal shield smooth. Three pairs of lyriform fissures present, first situated near anterior margin of sternal shield, second at level of posterior margin of coxae II, third at level of anterior margin of coxae IV. Ventral shield bearing 16 pairs of smooth and needle-like setae (c.13–17 µm), one pair of lyriform fissures placed at level of anterior margin of anal platelets. Surface of shields of ventral idiosoma smooth, only the posterior area of coxae IV covered by reticulate sculptural pattern. Peritremes long and S-shaped. Processes of gnathosoma and legs same as in female.    Larva   
 Unknown.    Etymology   
I dedicate the new species to Dr Bruce Halliday (CSIRO), an excellent acarologist.   Remarks   
 Following Hirschmann’s (Wiśniewski and Hirschmann 1993) subgeneric system, this species without the perigenital line, transversal furrows near coxae IV and metapodal line should be placed into the Oplitis wasmanni -group. The species of this group occur in all areas of the world. In this group only two species – Oplitis natalensis (Marais and Loots 1980) and Oplitis szunyeghyi Hirschmann 1983 – have a smooth genital shield in the female. The main differences between the mentioned species and the new one is the reticulate sculptural pattern near coxae IV, which is absent in the two known species and present in the new one.
description: Published as part of Kontschán, Jenő, 2013, Five new Uropodina species from New Caledonia (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 1339-1364 in Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) (J. Nat. Hist.) 47 (19 - 20) on pages 1344-1348, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2012.759284, http://zenodo.org/record/5196847