Abstract
Neocarus proteus sp. n., is described from caves and the surrounding epigean environment of ferruginous outcrops (Cangas) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In addition, some notes about development in this species are presented. Neocarus proteus is the only species in the genus that has smooth or barbed genital setae and that carries coronidia on the basitarsi, tibiae and genua of legs II–III. Females carry additional setae with rounded tips on the subcapitulum, and are, on average, larger than males. This distinct sexual dimorphism appears in the tritonymphal instar and is maintained in the adults.
Highlights
Opilioacarida is one of the orders of mites (Lindquist et al 2009), but has a very small number of described species
It currently contains one family (Opilioacaridae) with a total of 11 genera (Adenacarus Hammen, 1969, Caribeacarus Vázquez & Klompen, 2009, Indiacarus Das & Bastawade, 2007, Neocarus Chamberlin & Mulaik, 1942, Opilioacarus With, 1904, Paracarus Redikorzev, 1937, Panchaetes André, 1947, Phalangiacarus Naudo, 1963, Salfacarus Hammen, 1977, Siamacarus Leclerc, 1989 and Vanderhammenacarus Leclerc, 1989), comprising 34 extant and 2 fossil species. Even with this small number of described species, the geographical distribution of these mites is wide, extending to all the continents, except Antarctica. They have been reported from a total of 25 countries (United States, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Greece, Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, South Africa, Yemen, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand and Australia (Walter and Proctor 1998, Vázquez and Klompen 2002, Walter and Harvey 2009, Vázquez and Klompen 2009, Vázquez and Klompen 2010, Bernardi et al 2012)
Nine of the 11 known genera of Opilioacaridae are present in the Old World, but it is the New World that has the largest number of described species, with a total of 15, belonging to the genera Neocarus (11 spp.) and Caribeacarus (4 spp.)
Summary
Opilioacarida is one of the orders of mites (Lindquist et al 2009), but has a very small number of described species It currently contains one family (Opilioacaridae) with a total of 11 genera (Adenacarus Hammen, 1969, Caribeacarus Vázquez & Klompen, 2009, Indiacarus Das & Bastawade, 2007, Neocarus Chamberlin & Mulaik, 1942, Opilioacarus With, 1904, Paracarus Redikorzev, 1937, Panchaetes André, 1947, Phalangiacarus Naudo, 1963, Salfacarus Hammen, 1977, Siamacarus Leclerc, 1989 and Vanderhammenacarus Leclerc, 1989), comprising 34 extant and 2 fossil species. Even with this small number of described species, the geographical distribution of these mites is wide, extending to all the continents, except Antarctica. In Brazil, research on these mites is still in its initial phase, and only three species are currently known, two belonging to the genus Neocarus (Hammen 1969, Bernardi et al 2012), and one to Caribeacarus (Bernardi et al 2013)
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