Yunkeracarus microti n. sp. (Acari: Gastronyssidae) from the Nasal Passage of the Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus

Abstract

A new species of gastronyssid mite is described from the Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, from Pennsylvania, USA. It differs from Yunkeracarus muris and Yunkeracarus faini apodemi by the greater distance between sc e setae (75-90 ,/m vs. 55-70 gm) and from Y. f faini by the greater distance between sc i setae (about 18 vs. about 8). The genus Yunkeracarus with 1 species, Yunkeracarus muris (Fain, 1957), was first described from 2 African rodents, Arvicanthis abyssinicus and Pelomys fallax. Hyland and Clark (1959) described the second and only other species previously known from the genus as Yunkeracarus faini. This was the first North American record for the genus and was from Peromyscus leucopus from Michigan. Finally, Fain et al. (1967) described mites from Apodemus sylvaticus and Apodemus agrarius from Belgium, Holland, and Korea, as Yunkeracarus faini apodemi. The only other species in this subfamily is in the monotypic genus Sciuracarus Fain, 1964. Sciuracarus differs from Yunkeracarus mainly by the presence of ventral chitinized spurs posterior on the gnathosoma and by the absence of solenidion phi iv. Sciuracarus paraxeri occurs on an African squirrel. All species are from the nasal cavities of their rodent hosts. We recently collected 9 individuals of a new species of Yunkeracarus from the nasal cavities of an Eastern Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, from Pennsylvania. The purpose of this paper is to describe the new species and to present a key to the species and subspecies of the subfamily Yunkeracarinae, family Gastronyssidae. Measurements are in micrometers. Yunkeracarus microti n. sp. (Figs. 1-7) Description Female (holotype): Figures 1, 2. As in other species of the genus Yunkeracarus, idiosoma has small transparent scales, sometimes, as in holotype, they are difReceived 30 July 1984; revised 2 January 1985; accepted 2 January 1984. * Department of Aquatic Ecology, Catholic University, Nijmegen, Netherlands. ficult to see. Dorsal part of idiosoma sclerotized and partly covering gnathosoma. Length 366-413, including gnathosoma. Idiosoma bears 4 setae (2 sc i and 2 sc e) dorsally and posteriorly a small bursa copulatrix. Sc e 25-30, sc i 35-40, distance between bases of sc e 83-89, distance between bases of sc i 17-19. (For other measurements, see Table I.) Ventrally epimera I fused and Y-shaped. Epimera II free, covered by sclerotized skinfold (Fig. 1). Epimera III and IV fused. Setae cx I, cx III, h, sh and a i present. Anus ventro-caudad, flanked by two long and strong setae (d 5). Genital opening a large skinfold, narrowing towards genital apodeme and sclerotized at proximal ends (Fig. 1). Genital apodeme at level of epimera III. TABLE I. Measurements of Yunkeracarus microti, n. sp. 4 female paratypes Female Male holotype allotype x Min-max Body length Length of idiosoma Width of idiosoma Chaetotaxy of idiosoma