Setae C3 Research Articles

Morphological ontogeny of Limnozetes schatzi sp. nov. (Acari: Oribatida: Limnozetidae) from Norway

The morphological ontogeny of Limnozetes schatzi sp. nov. from Norway is described and illustrated. The adult of this species is the most similar to that of L. rugosus (Sellnick, 1925), but differs from it mainly by the body shape (it is stockier in dorsal aspect and less convex in lateral aspect than L. rugosus), longer prodorsal seta in and notogastral setae, lack of seta c3, which in some individuals of L. rugosus is present, and sculpture of notogaster. Moreover, in L. schatzi seta l' on femur III is absent, but in L. rugosus it is present. Seta d on femora I–III and seta l' on femora I and II have relatively long barbs, covered often with debris. The juveniles of L. schatzi have all gastronotal setae short, whereas the latter species has some setae longer (lm and lp in larva, lp in nymphs).

<p class="Body"><strong>Morphological ontogeny<em> </em>of <em>Lopheremaeus mirabilis </em>(Acari: Oribatida: Plateremaeidae), and comments on <em>Lopheremaeus </em>Paschoal</strong></p>

The morphological ontogeny of Lopheremaeus mirabilis (Csiszár 1962), the type species of Lopheremaeus Paschoal, 1988 (Plateremaeidae) is described and illustrated. The adult of this species has six pairs of notogastral setae (lp, h1, h2 and p-series), epimeral and anogenital hypertrichy, and 4–5 pairs of anal setae. The cuticle of juveniles is plicate, the larva lacks the gastronotal setae c3, la, lm and h3, the nymphs are multideficient (they lack also setae of d-series) and eupheredermous, i.e. they carry the exuvial scalps of previous instars on the gastronotum. In the adult, dorsal and ventral crests are present on all femora and trochanter III, and dorsal crest is present on trochanter IV, the nymphs have also dorsal and ventral crests on genua, whereas the larva has no crests. In all instars, seta d on all genua and tibiae is present, and all tarsi have basal bulb (containing muscles) and uniformly narrow distal stalk (with only tendons) at about mid-length. This species was reported only from Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia, Romania and Georgia.

<p class="Body"><strong>Morphological ontogeny of <em>Limnozetes solhoyorum </em>sp. nov. (Acari: Oribatida: Limnozetidae) from Norway, with comments on <em>Limnozetes</em> Hull</strong></p><p class="Body"> </p>

The morphological ontogeny of Limnozetes solhoyorum sp. nov. from Norway is described and illustrated. This species is most similar to L. guyi Behan-Pelletier, 1989 as adult, but differs from it mainly by the sculpture of notogaster, shorter prodorsal seta in and notogastral setae, especially p1, and the distribution of posterior notogastral setae. The tritonymph of L. solhoyorum differs from that of L. guyi by shorter gastronotal setae c3, dm, dp, lm and lp. In the deutonymph, tritonymph and adult of both species, setae d and l' from genu IV are absent.

First new species of the family Stigmocheylidae (Acari: Prostigmata: Paratydeoidea) from Asia

A new species, Stigmocheylus persicus sp. nov. (Trombidiformes: Prostigmata: Stigmocheylidae) is described based on adult females from Noor, Mazandaran province, northern Iran. The new species can be distinguished from other species by the following features: non-segmented peritremes; absence of setae c3; presence of setae g2; coxa II with four setae; genu I with nine setae; tarsi I–IV with 24(+2ω)–11(+1ω)-11-10 setae. This finding presents the first new species of the family Stigmocheylidae Berlese, 1910 from Asia. Additionally, an identification key to known species of Stigmocheylus is updated.

Morphological ontogeny of Peloribates longipilosus (Acari, Oribatida, Haplozetidae)

The morphological ontogeny of Peloribates longipilosus Csiszár, 1962, in Csiszár & Jeleva, 1962 is described and illustrated. The juveniles of this species have most prodorsal and gastronotal setae long and some gastronotal setae with excentrosclerites. The larva has 12 pairs of gastronotal setae, including h3, whereas the nymphs have 15 pairs. The larva has excentrosclerites at one pair of setae (c2), whereas nymphs have them at 11 pairs (c1,c2, d- l- and h-series). The notogaster of adult loses seta c3 and 14 pairs of long setae remain, and this setal pattern is the most primitive in Haplozetidae, other species have 10, 11 or 13 pairs of notogastral setae.

Morphological ontogeny of Chamobates pusillus (Acari, Oribatida, Chamobatidae), with comments on some species of Chamobates Hull

The morphological ontogeny of Chamobates pusillus (Berlese, 1895) is described and illustrated. The larva of this species is unpigmented and without a gastronotal shield, whereas the shield is present in the nymphs and has 10 pairs of setae (d-, l-, h-series and p1), while setae p2, p3 and of c-series are inserted on unsclerotized cuticle. In the juveniles, the length of most prodorsal setae and gastronotal seta c3 increases during the ontogeny, whereas the length of most other gastronotal setae varies with stage. In the larva, these setae are of medium size, whereas in the protonymph and deutonymph the length of setae gradually decreases and remains short in the tritonymph. In the adult, most prodorsal setae remain long, but the notogastral setae are either lost (c1, c3 and d-series) or remain as alveoli (l- and h-series) or minute (c2 and p-series) setae.

Morphological ontogeny of Hydrozetes paulista (Acari, Oribatida, Hydrozetidae), with comments on Hydrozetes Grandjean

The morphological ontogeny of Hydrozetes paulista Pérez-Íñigo & Baggio, 1989 is described and illustrated. This species is monodactylous as adult, with short, setiform bothridial seta and belongs to the “lacustris species group”. It has 13 pairs of notogastral setae, including c2, but seta c3 is retained by some individuals. Most gastronotal setae of larva are of medium size and barbed, except for longer setae lm, lp and h2, and short and smooth c1 and h3. In the nymphs setae of l-series, h1 and h2 are very long, smooth and dark pigmented, setae h3 and p1 are of medium size, thick, pointed and barbed, and other setae are short and usually smooth; seta lm is located anterior to the gland opening. Hydrozetes paulista is bisexual, but in this study only females were present.

<strong>Morphological ontogeny, distribution and ecology of <em>Damaeus torquisetosus</em> and <em>Epidamaeus puritanicus</em> (Acari: Oribatidae: Damaeidae)</strong>

Abstract The morphological ontogeny, distribution and ecology of Damaeus torquisetosus (Mihelcic, 1955) and Epidamaeus puritanicus (Banks, 1906) were investigated. In the juveniles of D. torquisetosus the legs are longer than the main body, especially leg IV, the prodorsal setae are of medium size, except for short seta in in nymphs, the dorsal setae on gastronotum are long or very long, except for distinctly shorter setae c3 and h2 in larva, seta h3 absent in larva, most gastronotal setae are curved, finely barbed, with flagellate distal part and inserted on apophyses, the cornicle is straight and situated between setal pair lm and epimeral setae are of different lengths. Juveniles of D. torquisetosus differ from the known juveniles of other Damaeus species in the following: absence of seta h3 in the larva, but present in other Dameus species, seta c3 in nymphs is of medium size whereas in most other species it is short. In the juveniles of E. puritanicus legs I, III and IV are as long or slightly longer...

Morphological ontogeny, distribution and ecology of Arthrodamaeus italicus and A. mongolicus (Acari: Oribatida: Gymnodamaeidae)

ABSTRACTThe morphological ontogeny of Arthrodamaeus italicus (Berlese, 1916) and A. mongolicus Bayartogtokh & Weigmann, 2005 is investigated for the first time. The juveniles of these species have long legs and are covered with granular cerotegument, which is typical of Gymnodamaeidae, but A. italicus has smooth cuticle on the gastronotum and setiform setae, whereas A. mongolicus has plicate cuticle and leaf-like setae. The larvae of both species lack seta h3, but the former species also lacks paraproctal setae. The nymphs of both species lack gastronotal setae la, lm and the d-series and carry the exuvial scalps of previous instars, which is typical of eupheredermous Brachypylina (Circumdehiscentiae). Arthrodamaeus italicus uses the long seta c3 and medium sized and curved setae c1, lp and h1 to protect these scalps against loss, whereas A. mongolicus uses the plicate cuticle. However, these four setae only weakly connect the exuvial scalps to the gastronotum of A. italicus, and the nymphs usually lose these scalps during extraction in alcohol, whereas the plicate cuticle firmly connect these scalps to the gastronotum of A. mongolicus and the nymphs bear them. The nymphs of these species have a well-developed posterior excrescence, with two pairs of setae (h1 and p1), also typical for Gymnodamaeidae, and probably is of defence importance. Arthrodamaeus italicus is a European centromeridional species, whereas A. mongolicus is known only from Mongolia. The former species is more abundant in cypress litter, but was also found in pine, yew and bush litter, whereas the latter species lives in moss and bush litter. In A. italicus, the juveniles usually dominated, whereas in A. mongolicus, the juveniles were as abundant as the adults.

Definition of Tenuipalpus sensu stricto (Acari, Tenuipalpidae), with redescription of Tenuipalpus caudatus (Dugès) and description of a new species from Costa Rica

The taxonomic history of the genus Tenuipalpus Donnadieu is discussed and Tenuipalpus caudatus (Dugès) (=Tenuipalpus palmatus Donnadieu) is redescribed based on specimens from Portugal intercepted at ports of entry in the United States, and references including photographic records of the neotype of T. caudatus. In addition, a proposed new species, Tenuipalpus erbei sp. nov. is described from Costa Rica. Our results show that T. caudatus, T. erbei sp. nov. and another 36 known species of Tenuipalpus share a pair of lateral body projections associated with setae c3, considered a synapomorphy for the newly defined group, Tenuipalpus sensu stricto. We also show that its members share other character states, although these features are found elsewhere in Tenuipalpus and also in Ultratenuipalpus, indicating their origins are within Tenuipalpus. A list of Tenuipalpus sensu stricto species is presented.

Morphology, distribution and biology of Mycobates sarekensis (Acari: Oribatida: Punctoribatidae)

Mycobates sarekensis (Trägårdh, 1910) is a typical component of the Svalbard archipelago, but its morphological ontogeny is unknown, and distribution and biology are known poorly. The juveniles of this species are similar to those of other species of Mycobates with known ontogeny, but differ by the length of seta c3 in all juvenile stages and the presence of a humeral organ and gastronotal shield in the larva. The nymphs of M. sarekensis have shorter seta c3 than those of Mycobates acuspidatus and Mycobates royi, whereas the larva of M. sarekensis has shorter seta c3 than that of M. acuspidatus and has a humeral organ, which is absent in the latter species. The larva of M. royi differs from those of M. sarekensis and M. acuspidatus by presence of gastronotal shield, which is absent in other species. The adult of Mycobates tridactylus is similar to that of M. sarekensis and we provisionally consider it as a synonym of M. sarekensis. In Svalbard, this species achieved the highest density in swamp and wet moss tundra, and in most other plant classes was not abundant. In M. sarekensis, the males dominated the females, and in extracted samples the juveniles of M. sarekensis was not abundant or absent. The mean body length of females was greater than that of males, and the adults from the cold polar desert areas in northern Svalbard were usually smaller than those from the warmer and very nutrient-rich ornigenic soils on Storholmen.

Taxonomy of African Damaeidae (Acarina: Oribatida) I. Metabelba (Pateribelba) centurion sp. nov. from Ethiopia and redescription of Metabelba (Pateribelba) glabriseta

The oribatid mite Metabelba (Pateribelba) centurion sp. nov. is described based on specimens from the mountain areas of Ethiopia. The species is characterized by a specific arrangement of strong and erect notogastral setae in close, parallel rows near the midline, by the unique presence of notogastral seta c3 in adult and by the presence of a complete set of dorsal (Da, Dp) and postbothridial (Ba, Bp) enantiophyses. Another African species Metabelba (Pateribelba) glabriseta Mahunka, 1982 is redescribed based on the original type series, also originally described from Ethiopia. This species is characterized mainly by the presence of a complete dorsal enantiophysis (Da, Dp), by the absence of the postbothridial enantiophysis and by the presence of one pair of the posterior ventrosejugal tubercles (Vp). Specific morphological characters are discussed and the species are compared with related taxa.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DF3E9A0B-F040-46FF-A528-5FE7B87952D1

Variability of external morphology of Eueremaeus Mihelčič, 1963 (Acari, Oribatida, Eremaeidae) in the light of ontogeny of four species

In this study the variability of the external morphology of Eueremaeus Mihelčič, 1963 was investigated, in the light of the ontogeny of Eueremaeus oblongus (C.L. Koch, 1835), Eueremaeus intermedius Mihelčič, 1963, Eueremaeus silvestris Forsslund, 1956 and Eueremaeus travei Mihelčič, 1963 and the literature. Morphological variability occurs in all species and includes mainly the presence and size of foveae in different parts of body of the juveniles, shape of femora I–IV of nymphs and shape of prodorsal lamellar costulae and tubercles between the bothridia of the adults. Eueremaeus intermedius and Eu. silvestris are considered by some authors as synonyms of Eu. oblongus, but in the light of our observations these species differ by the morphology of the juveniles and adults from Eu. oblongus, so we provisionally reject these synonyms until the type or topotypic material of these species can be compared. All these species are relatively similar in the larva, and differentiation of their morphology increases during ontogeny and is well observed in the tritonymph. The tritonymph of Eu. intermedius has distinctly shorter setae in, h3 and p2 than those of Eu. oblongus and Eu. silvestris, whereas the tritonymph of Eu. silvestris has longer sensillus, with slimmer head than those of Eu. intermedius and Eu. oblongus. The adult of Eu. intermedius has prodorsal lamellar costulae more widely separated than in Eu. oblongus and Eu. silvestris, shorter seta in and larger subtriangular post-anal process than in these species, whereas the adult of Eu. silvestris has longer sensillus, with slimmer head than in Eu. intermedius and Eu. oblongus. The latter species has barbed anal setae, whereas other two species have these setae smooth. The nymphs of Eu. travei have stocky femora I–IV, with dorsal serrate keels, whereas in other species these segments are slimmer and without dorsal keels. The adult of Eu. travei is larger, more stocky and has longer prodorsal lamellar costulae than those of other species. We observed in the adult of Eu. oblongus for the first time setae c3 and c1 on the notogaster, which inform about the order of loss of these setae in the Eremaeidae.

A Review of the Mite Family Stigmocheylidae Berlese (Acari: Prostigmata)

Abstract. The external morphology of rare soil inhabiting mites belonging to the monobasic family Stigmocheylidae (Acari: Prostigmata) is examined, based on the material from North America. Homologies of all studied morphological structures with those of other prostigmatic mites are established. An expanded taxonomic diagnosis of the family is provided for the first time. Two new species from North America are described, Stigmocheylus americanus sp. nov. and S. oberon sp. nov. These species differ from S. brevisetus Berlese, 1910, the type species of the genus, by the longer body 510 and 630 µm, respectively (vs. 380 in S. brevisetus) and by the absence of setae c3. Stigmocheylus oberon sp. nov. differs from S. americanus sp. nov. by the absence of g2 (vs. its presence in S. americanus), and by leg setation: setae ve'and ve” on tarsi II–III; v' on tibia IV, l1, l”1, v'1 on genu I, l” on telofemur III, l'on telofemur IV, l” on basifemur I, d on basifemur II, and 4c on coxa IV are present (vs. absence of th...