Cruralonga gracilare (Womersley, 1963), 2025

Shaw, Matthew D., 2025, Neotrombidiidae (Acari, Trombidiformes) from Nullarbor caves, southern Australia including the apparently troglomorphic Cruralonga gen. nov., Subterranean Biology 53, pp. 41-71 : 41-71

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.53.139979

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1E071F8F-C789-4A2B-AF60-0E4AAFBA475F

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17028703

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/74DDAF7C-BF02-52A9-8693-D958AEEB5607

treatment provided by

Subterranean Biology by Pensoft

scientific name

Cruralonga gracilare (Womersley, 1963)
status

comb. nov.

Cruralonga gracilare (Womersley, 1963) comb. nov.

Neotrombidium gracilare Womersley, 1963 b p. 150 ; Australia; 1 ♀; Holotype; SAMA J 14200 ; Fig. Tree Cave , Wombeyan, New South Wales; 21 Aug. 1960; B. Dew leg.

Type-specimen.

Holotype adult, mounted on microslide in Hoyer’s medium. Original labels: “ Fig. Tree Cave / Wombeyan / 21-8 - 1960 / Det H. Womersley ”, “ LEEUWENHOEKIIDAE / ♀ / HOLOTYPE / Neotrombidium / gracilare n. sp. / Det H. Womersley ” .

Discussion.

Cruralonga gracilare is only known from postlarvae. The type locality is Fig. Tree Cave, New South Wales which is also the type locality for C. gracilipes . As suggested in its original description, C. gracilipes may be a junior synonym of C. gracilare .

The following characters are reasons for transfer of Neotrombidium gracilare to Cruralonga : anterior sensory area is long, blunt-ended and spade-shaped hence not short, broad and rounded as in typical adult Neotrombidium . The arrangement of setae in this species conforms to Nullarbor Cruralonga . For body setae, the median tine of triradiate setae is subequal to other tines. Coxa I bears a strong, angular, anteriorly-directed process arising from its anterodistal (prolateral) face. Legs of C. gracilare are substantially longer than other Neotrombidiidae , approaching the condition in Nullarbor Cruralonga (Table 2 View Table 2 ). The holotype was examined at SAMA and conforms to the genus diagnosis. The number of eyes could not be confirmed from the holotype however based on Womersley’s (1963 b) illustrations and description, Cruralonga gracilare comb. nov. supposedly differs from Cruralonga milnerii sp. nov. in retaining a pair of eyes on an ocular plate.

The species identity of specimens not from the type locality and other specimens recorded from New South Wales and Victoria (Hamilton 1967) will need examination including via recollection. Womersley (1963 b) states “ … South Australia in bat guano ” in a key for Neotrombidium gracilare , but “ South Australia ” is not mentioned elsewhere in publications, nor in Hamilton (1967). This comment is likely a lapsus for southern Australia, but if not, note that essentially all of the hypogean South Australian material described by Womersley is from karst areas of SE South Australia.

SAMA

South Australia Museum

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Trombidiformes

Family

Neotrombidiidae

Genus

Cruralonga

Loc

Cruralonga gracilare (Womersley, 1963)

Shaw, Matthew D. 2025
2025
Loc

Neotrombidium gracilare

Neotrombidium gracilare Womersley, 1963 b p. 150