Water mites from West Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia)
Author
Smit, Harry
text
Acarologia
2021
2021-09-27
61
3
700
746
https://www1.montpellier.inrae.fr/CBGP/acarologia/article.php?id=4466
journal article
10.24349/5d6U-DX5N
2107-7207
7159546
Atractides
(
Atractides
)
vietsi
(Cook, 1966)
(
Figure 5
A-E)
New record.
Ghana
. 0/1 [palp + I-leg-5–6 mounted]/0, small rainforest stream upstream Sagyimase, Atewa Hills,
6°13.964′ N
0°33.116′ W
,
654 m
a.s.l.,
8 Mar. 2011
.
Material for comparison.
Atractides rectipes
(K.
Viets, 1924
)
,
holotype
male, Múke-Fluss,
Kamerun
,
15 Jan. 1916
(slide 45938, SMF).
Atractides vietsi
(Cook, 1966)
,
paratype
male, stream at Bridge No 19 on
Bomi
Hills Road,
Liberia
,
23 Jan. 1957
(sign. 36, leg. Cook) (slide 53005, SMF;
paratype
female, stream at Bridge No 19 on
Bomi
Hills Road,
Liberia
,
23 Jan. 1957
(sign. 36, leg. Cook) (slide 53006, SMF).
Remarks. According to Cook (1966), the differences between males of
A. rectipes
and
A. vietsi
are the single dorsal platelet in the former and the paired dorsal platelets in the latter. Unfortunately, the female of
A. rectipes
is unknown. The female of
vietsi
has a pair of dorsal platelets, as in the male (
Figure 5A
). A character not discussed by Cook (1966), is the shape of the two distal setae of I-leg-5. These are slightly curved in both species, but rounded at its tip in
rectipes
, and truncated in
vietsi
(and not pointed as illustrated by Cook 1966) (
Figure 5E
). Given these differences, the female of this study must be assigned
A
to.
vietsi
.
Distribution.
Liberia
(Cook 1966).