Acanthochelinae, new subfamily (Acari: Parasitiformes: Laelapidae), with redescription of Acanthochela chilensis Ewing and descriptions of a new genus and species from Argentina

Abstract

The female of Acanthochela chilensis Ewing, 1933 is redescribed and the male and deutonymph are described for the first time, based on the type collection from the mouseopossum Thylamys elegans (Didelphidae) and a second collection from the small marsupial Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheriidae). The female, male, and deutonymph of Lukoschus maresi, new genus and new species, are described from collections from 3 genera of rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae): Akodon, Irenomys, and Oligoryzomys. Both mite species are known only from Andean localities between 30–40°S. Despite morphological differences justifying generic separation, most strikingly the extreme dorsal shield hypertrichy in L. maresi, we establish the new subfamily Acanthochelinae for the 2 genera based on their synapomorphies. The Acanthochelinae share some characters with the essentially Holarctic Haemogamasinae and others with the Australasian Mesolaelapinae, suggesting a historical relationship between these subfamilies of Laelapidae. A key is given to the 7 hypertrichous genera that make up the Haemogamasinae, Mesolaelapinae, and Acanthochelinae.