Copidognathus majusculus (Trouessart, 1894)

Durucan, Furkan, 2024, Three new records and some juveniles of the genus Copidognathus (Acari, Halacaridae) from Türkiye, Persian Journal of Acarology 13, pp. 771-796 : 778-779

Copidognathus majusculus (Trouessart, 1894) ( Figs. 9A–G , Table 4)

Morphology and notes

Female – All dorsal plates separated but very close to each other. Porose areolae both dorsal and ventral plates with rosette pores. Idiosoma anteriorly with pointed protuberance. AD has “A” shaped internal sclerite. AD rectangular posteriorly. PD with single costae and two rosette pores wide. Pair of ds-1 near lateral margin of AD. Setae ds-2 on OC. ds-3 to ds-5 on PD. Ds-6 on anal cone ( Fig. 9A ). Ventral plates with uniformly punctated. AE with three pairs setae and a pair of epimeral pores. PE with one dorsal and three ventral setae. GA truncate anteriorly with three pairs pgs and one pair of sgs. Ovipositor extending far beyond GO and pgs-1 ( Fig. 9B ).

Gnathosoma ( Fig. 9D ) 1.60 times longer than wide. Gnathosomal base with pair of distinct areolae. One pair of maxillary setae on gnathosomal base, other pair half-way along rostrum. Rostrum triangular. Rostral sulcus long, reaching up to 0.6 of rostral length. Palps are slender and consist of four segments. P1 to P4 13, 33, 10, 54 long, respectively. P1 and P3 without setae, P2 with single seta, P4 with three setae at basal whorl. P4 longer than P2.

Legs short ( Figs. 9 E-G) and with lamellae. Some of lamellae with reticulate patterns as illustrated. All basifemura and telofemora with ventrolateral lamellae. Genua I and II with lamellae, genua III and IV has no lamellae. All tibiae with ventrolateral and ventromedial lamellae. Trochanter III ( Fig. 9G ) and IV with triangular projection. Leg chaetotaxy from trochanter to tarsus (bipectinated setae between parentheses, parambulacral setae and solenidia excluded): leg I: 1, 2, 5, 4, 7(2), 6 5; leg II: 1, 2, 5, 4, 7(1), 3; leg III: 1, 2, 2, 3, 5(1), 4 3; leg IV: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5(1), 4 2. Tarsi I to IV with 3, 3, 4, 3 dorsal setae and 2, 0, 0, 0 ventral setae. All legs with two lateral claws with accessory process and a small bidentate median claw. Fossa membrane well-developed in tarsi I and II, while slender in tarsi III and IV.

Male – Male is similar to female except for the genital plate ( Fig. 9C ). GO surrounded by 20-21 pgs. Spermatopositor large (110), extending beyond ring of pgs. Four pairs of sgs are present; anterior sgs hair-like, posterior ones spur-like. GO 50 long, 25 wide. Distance between edges of GA and GO 102, equalling 0.49 of GO length.

Remarks

Copidognathus majusculatus was originally described by Trouessart (1894) from the French Mediterranean (Marseille) ( Bartsch, 2004), and has since been recorded from the North Sea ( Helgoland, Germany) ( Bartsch, 1977) and the Turkish Mediterranean (Antalya) in fine sand sediment at a depth of 9 m ( Durucan, 2019). The specimens reported here were found at a station very close to the latter locality. C. majusculatus belongs to the C. gibbus species group, differing from C. gibbus in the size of its rosette pores and the number of ostia. In C. gibbus , each pore is large, with an ostium surrounded by up to 20 canaliculi, whereas in C. majusculatus , the rosette pores and ostia are smaller and surrounded by 2–4 canaliculi ( Bartsch, 2004).

Figures

Figure 9. Copidognathus majusculatus (Trouessart, 1894) (adults) – A. Idiosoma dorsal view (female); B. Idiosoma, ventral view (female); C. Genitoanal plate (male); D. Gnathosoma, ventral view (female); E. Leg I, lateral view; F. Tibia and tarsus II, lateral view; G. Leg III, lateral view. Scale bars: 50 µm.