Inglacarus, Beard & Seeman, 2025

Beard, Jennifer J. & Seeman, Owen D., 2025, Two new genera and six new species of flat mites (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae) from Goodeniaceae (Asterales) in Australia, Zootaxa 5637 (2), pp. 201-259 : 250

Inglacarus gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Palps 1-segmented, with single elongate tapered seta (apparently smooth).Anterior margin of prodorsum rounded, without median projection or notch; opisthosoma with 8 pairs of setae (c1, c3, d1, d3, e3, f3, h1, h2 present; c2, d2, e1, e2, f2 absent); dorsal setae short, fine, blunt. Ventral and genital shields not developed, both regions entirely membranous; two pairs of ps setae, anal valves membranous, ps2 and ps3 inserted longitudinally on anal valves; setae 4a short; 4a2 absent. Trochanter setal formula 1-1-2-1 (ontogeny of l′ on tr III unknown); trochanter III with seta l′ blunt. Femur III with seta d present, femur IV with seta d absent, formula 4-4-2-1. Genua III lacking seta l′, genual formula 3-3-0-0. Blunt leg setae: femur I setae d, l′; femur II d, l′, bv″; femur III d; genu I–II d, l′, l″; tibia I–II d, l″; tibia III–IV d. Tarsal claws and empodia pad-like. Usually three pairs of large pores visible on dorsal opisthosoma.

Remarks. Inglacarus gen. nov. is closest to Goodeniacarus gen. nov. in sharing a reduction of idiosomal dorsal setae, having short blunt dorsal idiosomal and leg setae, undeveloped ventral shields, the same leg setation, pectinate ventral tibial and tarsal setae, the morphology of the pretarsus, and the same host plant genus. The new genus is distinguished by having two regressive features: the reduction of the palp to just one segment with one phanere (probably the tibial dorsal seta due to length, suggesting loss of tarsal phaneres concomitant with the fusion or loss of the tarsus), and loss of the median forked projection. The new genus also has seta h2, which represents a significant plesiomorphic retention. These two genera are also distinguished from each other by the short seta 4a in Inglacarus jonesi sp. nov. versus long, attenuated in Goodeniacarus gen. nov. While the significance of this feature is not fully understood, it seems to be consistent within most other tenuipalpid genera; although there is some intraspecific variation within genera such as Aegyptobia and Dolichotetranychus .