Abstract
A new planktonic species of the marine water mites of the family Pontarachnidae Koenike, 1910 is described from Corozal Bay, an estuarine system in Belize. The morphological description includes Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) images and is augmented by an analysis of DNA cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences, the DNA barcode, used for the first time for a species description in this group.
Highlights
The Pontarachnidae Koenike, composed of two genera, Pontarachna Philippi, 1840 and Litarachna Walter, 1925, is the only water mite family with species occurring in marine habitats
The specimens were collected in open water from Corozal Bay, a binational embayment shared by Mexico and Belize, forming part of Chetumal Bay (Figure 1)
The new species Litarachna belicensis n. sp. is quite similar to L. communis Walter, 1925, originally described in France and with distribution in Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Turkey (Mediterranean Sea) and Russia (Black Sea), in the complete suture lines between Cx-I and -II as well as Cx-III and -IV and the idiosoma length (L. belicensis 476 – L. communis 465); the new species differs from L. communis in the presence of a ventral projection on P-2 and in the absence of two spiniform setae on P-2
Summary
The Pontarachnidae Koenike, composed of two genera, Pontarachna Philippi, 1840 and Litarachna Walter, 1925, is the only water mite family with species occurring in marine habitats. We describe a new species of Litarachna from Corozal Bay, an estuarine system in Belize, a region within the Yucatan Peninsula biogeographic zone. This species represents the second reported planktonic pontarachnid (Litarachna) mite. It is the first record for Belize, and we present the first DNA barcodes in a description for a member of this family. How to cite this article Montes-Ortiz L. et al (2021), A new species of Litarachna Walter, 1925 (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from Corozal Bay (Belize), described based upon morphology and DNA barcodes.
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