Nidilaelaps, Shaw, 2012

Description of Nidilaelaps , n. g.

Type species Gymnolaelaps annectans Womersley 1955: 419 .

Dorsum: Dorsal shield covering entire dorsum except in compressed specimens. Holotrichous with 39 paired setae and 1–3 (rarely 4) medial accessory Jx setae present at ca. level of J4. Jx setae absent above the level of J3. Dorsal setae fine and setiform, without a flange or a basal bulge. Dorsal setae smooth, except Z5 and J5 sometimes bearing a few barbs. Dorsal shield reticulations in the mid-podonotal region fading to absent.

Gnathosoma: Palp trochanter-tibia setation holotrichous (2:5:6:14). Inner palp trochanteral setae setiform and homomorphic, not broadened. Palp apotele with 2 subequal tines. Internal malae aligned medially, internal edges meeting, exposed edges with fimbriae. Fimbriae fine without swollen tips. Epistome a short, blunt, and smooth lobe.

Venter: Simple, weakly sclerotised zones of striae in presternal area, without discrete sclerotised presternal elements or biconvex humps. Sternal shield at least as wide as long. Genito-ventral shield extensive, broad and long, reaching almost to anal shield, bearing medially a series of 6–9 serially-regular and broadly transverse striae. Genito-ventral shield bears st5 and often Zv1, Jv1 and Jv2 also. Setae on genito-ventral shield on shield margin, or close to margin, within zone of longitudinally-aligned cells. R series appears holotrichous (R1–6) or with slight hypertrichy. Pore associated with st5 (pst5) off genito-ventral shield. Weak exopodal IV lobe present, without thinned window-like zone. Opisthogastric setae without barbs.

Legs: Leg setation holotrichous as defined by Evans (1963) for Laelapidae . All leg setae simple, acicular, not barbed or apically bifid. Genu IV pd seta fine and hence homomorphic with ad1–2, not stout. Apical stalk on tarsus I very short (1–4); essentially absent. Pretarsal opercula with 5–7 tines.

Males (known for N. annectans and N. holdsworthi sp. nov.): Holoventral shield bears st1–5 and 5 pairs of other setae. Femur II av1 stout. Spermadactyl with sharp tip.

Remarks. All three known species strongly associate with the bodies, or nests, of mammals or birds. In addition to nests, Nidilaelaps annectans also commonly inhabits forest litter samples (an unknown proportion of which are also nests, see Remarks for N. annectans ). One new species is known in southern Australia, another in Papua New Guinea. Nidilaelaps annectans is found on both these land masses and is also found in New Zealand islands, Hawaii, the Azores, Argentina and Britain.

Rediagnosing Pseudoparasitus is not an aim of this paper, however I briefly mention features of Pseudoparasitus that I have observed from available material ( P. camini (Domrow) ; P. missouriensis (Ewing, 1909) ; P. thatcheri Hunter & Moser ) and literature; Jx setae, when present, are anterior of level of mid J3–4, sometimes including above the level of J3 (e.g. P. thatcheri ); apotele two or three-tined; median lobes of the internal malae may be separate ( P. camini , P. missouriensis ); fimbriae on the median lobes of the internal malae lacking or greatly reduced ( P. camini ); presternal shields present; tritosternal laciniae usually separate at the level of transverse suture on tritosternal base; sternal shield often longer than broad; sometimes deficient in anterior R setae ( P. thatcheri e.g. Hunter & Moser 1968); setae Jv1– 2 set strongly internal of genito-ventral shield margin; genito-ventral shield well developed with the pore associated with st5 (pst5) most often on the genito-ventral shield, and exopodal IV mostly welldeveloped, usually with a thinned window-like zone.