A new, morphologically and ecologically unusual Lasioseius mite (Acari: Blattisociidae) associated with Diaperis boleti (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) and wood-decomposing fungi in Slovakia

Abstract

On the basis of females and males found on the adult beetles of the mycophagous tenebrionid Diaperis boleti (L.) and on the polypore fungi Fomitopsis betulina, Laetiporus sulphureus, and Cerioporus squamosus infested with this beetle, which serve as a specific phoretic host for the new species, a new blattisociid mite, Lasioseius boleti sp. nov. was described. The new species is characterised by a pronounced sexual dimorphism of the dorsal chaetotaxy, which is unusual for the genus, and by several features more typical of other highly specialized fungicoles among the mesostigmatic mites than of other species of Lasioseius Berlese, such as the genera Hoploseius Berlese (Blattisociidae), Mycomelichares Mašán and Joharchi (Melicharidae), and Bulbolaelaps Faraji, Zare and Rahmani (Digamasellidae). The new species is unusual among the known congeners mainly because of its unusual bionomy, sexual dimorphism, presence of unequal setae that vary greatly in length and form in both sexes, moderately shortened peritremes, sharp cheliceral teeth, and brush-like tritosternum.