The megisthanid mites (Mesostigmata: Megisthanidae) of Australia Author Seeman, Owen D. text Zootaxa 2019 2019-02-28 4563 1 1 40 journal article 28158 10.11646/zootaxa.4563.1.1 3e3068c1-c158-4d97-9aec-31fc80551edb 1175-5326 2600858 A44D4C11-ADA1-48A8-9F00-B46BDF7B2A49 Megisthanus leviathanicus Seeman, 2017 Megisthanus leviathanicus Seeman, 2017 : 3 (online edition) Material examined. In addition to those listed in Seeman (2017) : Australia , Queensland , ex passalid: 1 female , Atherton Tableland, 21.iii.1945 ( J17327 ). 2 males , Atherton Tableland, 28.iii.1945 ( J17314 ; J17315 –16, chelicerae on separate slide). No host given: 1 female , 2 males , dorsum and chelicerae of another male specimen, Eubenangee , 11.xii.1949 , D.C. Brooks ( J17318 –23, J17358 –61). All in SAM . Diagnosis: see Seeman (2017) . Remarks. Megisthanus leviathanicus belongs to a small group of species that have females with tapering or lyriform dorsal shields. The only other similar species are M . caudatus , M . jacobsoni and M . manonae sp. nov . The former two species are highly distinctive in also having an elongate, hourglass-shaped ventrianal shield, which M . leviathanicus and M . manonae lack. Megisthanus leviathanicus and M . manonae are separated based on the shape of the female’s body setae (see the differential diagnosis for M . manonae ).