Kallimobates inusitatus, Smit & Pešić, 2025

Smit, Harry & Pešić, Vladimir, 2025, New records of hygrobatid water mites from SE Australia (Acari: Hydrachnidia Hygrobatidae) with the description of ten new species, Zootaxa 5566 (3), pp. 481-521 : 508

Kallimobates inusitatus sp. nov.

Figure 13–14

Material examined. Holotype female, tributary of Wild Cattle Creek , Dorrigo NP , New South Wales, 8-xi-2003, leg. Smit dissected and slide mounted ( AMS).

Diagnosis (Male unknown). Gnathosomal rostrum with a more or less uniform height along its length, denticles present on the ventral side of P2 and P3, P3 without ventral projection.

Description. Female. Dorsal and ventral shields present; dorsal shield 681 long and 644 wide, with three pairs of glandularia and the postocularia; a pair of glandularia lying in the dorsal furrow at the posterior end of the dorsal shield ( Figure 13A ). Ventral shield ( Figure 13B ) 769 long and 763 wide; gnathosomal bay moderately deep, 188 long. Genital field with three pairs of acetabula, fused with the ventral shield, 266 wide between outer margins of acetabula; gonopore 108 long and 118 wide.

Palp as illustrated in Figures 14A–B : dorsal length/height: P1, 27/44; P2, 93/57; P3, 140/52; P4, 108/26; P5, 44/14; ventral margin of P2 with a projection, denticles present on this projection and on the ventral side of P3, P-3 ventral margin without a projection, ventral margin P4 with well-developed tubercles in posterior part of the segment. Gnathosoma ( Figure 13C ) without an anchoral process, 222 long; chelicera 306 long.

Dorsal lengths of I-leg-3–5: 123, 178, 184, 103; I-leg-4–6 as illustrated in Figure 13D ; dorsal lengths of IV-leg: 109, 115, 153, 194, 206, 163; IV-leg-5 with two moderately long swimming setae.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for its apparent rare occurrence.

Remarks. In regard to the shape of the gnathosomal rostrum which is of more or less uniform height along its length, the new species resembles K. vietsi . The latter species can easily be separated from the new species by the shape of palp with P-2 lacking denticles and P-3 with a well-developed ventral projection in posterior half of the segment (see Fig. 671 in Cook 1986).

Distribution. New South Wales; known only from the type locality.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Kallimobates inusitatus sp. nov., holotype female, tributary of Wild Cattle Creek: A—dorsal shield; B—ventral shield; B—lateral view of gnathosoma, chelicera and palp; D—I-leg-4–6. Scale bars = 100 µm.

FIGURE 14. Kallimobates inusitatus sp. nov., holotype female, tributary of Wild Cattle Creek: A–B—palp. Scale bar = 100 µm.