Australiobates curvisetus, 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 : 483

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5A41C10B-C902-4583-AB0F-0E843EB700E3
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14725657
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EC878B-FFE5-B933-80D4-FD6731D0F9A3
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Australiobates curvisetus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Australiobates curvisetus sp. nov.

Figure 1 View FIGURE 1

Material examined. Holotype female, New South Wales. 0/1/0, Upper Minnemurra River W of Robertson , 6-xi- 2001 leg. Smit, dissected and slide mounted ( AMS).

Diagnosis (Male unknown). I-leg-5 with two distal, slender and bluntly pointed, close together, distoposterior seta (S1 sensu Gerecke 2003) curved.

Description. Female. Idiosoma ventrally 960 long and 780 wide. Coxal field 485 long, Cx-III width 606, apodemes of Cx-IV relatively short. Genital field 188 long and 184 wide, individual genital plates 153–159 long, three pairs of acetabula in a curved line ( Figure 1A View FIGURE 1 ), maximum diameter Ac 1–3: 53–56, 47–53, 57–50; pregenital sclerite 78 wide, gonopore 150 long. Egg (n = 3) maximum diameter 127–138.

Palp as illustrated in Figure 1C View FIGURE 1 : P1, 47/36; P2, 100/59; P3, 152/53; P4, 159/28; P5, 47/16; palpal segment comparatively long ( Figure 1B View FIGURE 1 ), ventral margin of P2 and P-3 nearly straight, P3 ventral margin without setae, ventral margin of P4 with two short and thin, pointed setae, located in posterior half of the segment, setae at tip of P5 relatively small and only slightly downturned. Gnathosoma with its long posterior process 367 long. Chelicera 244 long.

Dorsal lengths of I-leg: 86, 125, 198, 275, 303, 247; I-leg-5 with two characteristic distal setae ( Figure 1C View FIGURE 1 ), slender and close together, bluntly pointed, distoposterior seta (S1 sensu Gerecke 2003) curved, 78 long, distoanterior seta (S2 sensu Gerecke 2003) 84 long, S-1–2 separation 13; I-leg-6 nearly straight with a row of ventral setae; dorsal lengths of IV-leg: 166, 178, 278, 388, 428, 317; IV-leg-5 with one very short swimming seta.

Male: Unknown

Etymology. Named for the curved seta of I-leg-5.

Remarks. I-leg-5 with curved terminal setae are uncommon in the genus Australiobates . Only a number of Australiobates species from New Guinea have I-leg-5 with slightly curved distal setae ( Wiles 1997).