Eremella (Licnocepheus) cochlearia Revelo & Martínez, 2025

Eremella (Licnocepheus) cochlearia Revelo & Martínez sp. nov.

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Figures (27–44)

Diagnosis. Body length 325–395. Body smooth, covered by a layer of microgranulated cerotegument and scattered larger granules, legs with transverse striae, anal plate with longitudinal striae. Costulae meeting medially with a trancostula and continuing in divergent ridges, forming an X. Rostral setae setiform, lamellar, interlamellar and notogastral setae cymbiform; bothridial setae small with globose head. A longitudinal ridge and two transverse ridges divide the anterior half of the notogaster into four fields, and a fifth posterior field is surrounded by radial ridges. Epimeral, genital, aggenital, anal and adanal setae, setiform, short, with cerotegument granules covering the base.

Description of adult. Measurements. Body length: 387 (holotype, female), 346–384 (four paratypes, females) and 325–350 (three paratypes, males); notogaster width: 225 (holotype), 190–228 (four paratypes, females) and 177–187 (three paratypes, males). Thickness: 129–154. Body ratio: 1.7–1.9.

Integument. Color light to orange-brown on body and legs, dark brown on crests and dark almost black on setae and cerotegument. Body surface smooth; mentum and legs with transverse striations, more conspicuous on femora, longitudinal striations on anal plates. Body and legs covered by a microgranulated cerotegument layer and with scattered larger granules (0.5–5); on trochanters, femora and epimeres I, furthermore, cerotegument lines with a polygonal pattern arrangement.

Prodorsum ( Figures 27 View FIGURES 27–29 , 30 View FIGURES 30–31 ). Rostrum rounded; costulae meeting medially with a transcostula and continuing in divergent ridges, forming an X; prodorsal setae le>ro>in>bs>ex, all except bothridial seta inserted in small apophyses; rostral seta (32–44) setiform, smooth, curved, finely pointed; lamellar (38–57 × 14–16) and interlamellar (36–41 × 12–14) setae cymbiform, denticulate; interlamellar setae inserted in an oval, somewhat raised area, distal end slightly wider; bothridium open as a low cup, with a subtriangular postero-lateral projection; bothridial seta globose, head wider (14–19 × 13–15) ( Figure 33 View FIGURES 32–37 ) than bothridium, with cerotegument in the form of longitudinal excrescences, stalk (8–11) shorter than head. Exobothridial seta (13–17) setiform, with a dense covering of cerotegument. Tutoria absent.

Notogaster ( Figures 27, 29–30 View FIGURES 27–29 View FIGURES 30–31 ). Concave, dorsal and lateral region forming an 80° angle. A longitudinal ridge and two transverse ridges delimit four fields in the anterior half of the notogaster; a fifth field, undivided, is arranged posteriorly; radial ridges arranged encircling posterior notogastral border. Ten pairs of cymbiform, denticulate notogastral setae with a small stalk (4–7) ( Figure 35 View FIGURES 32–37 ); setae c, la, lm, lp, h 1–3 and p 1 marginal (33–42 × 13–19), setae p 2 –p 3 lateral and smaller (17–23 × 8–12). Lyrifissures: ia anterior to c, in humeral region; im diagonal, between lm and lp; ih and ips lateral, longitudinal; ip posterior, transverse, near p 1; opisthonotal gland opening near h 3.

Gnathosoma . Subcapitulum size (53–87 × 54–88) ( Figures 32 View FIGURES 32–37 , 42 View FIGURES 38–44 ); subcapitular setae (9–11) setiform, smooth, curved, with cerotegument granules covering the base. Palp size 41, palp setal formula 0-2-1-3-9 (+ω), eupathidium acm and solenidium parallel ( Figure 43 View FIGURES 38–44 ). Chelicera (83 × 30), cha (14), chb (11) ( Figure 44 View FIGURES 38–44 ). Trägårdh organ (22) small, blunt-tipped. Adoral setae present (9).

Epimeral and lateral podosomal region ( Figures 28–29 View FIGURES 27–29 , 31 View FIGURES 30–31 ). Apodemes 1 weak, longitudinally arranged; apodemes 2 and sejugal apodemes stronger, transverse, reaching mid-epimer, apodemes 3 and 4 absent; a pair of cavities in fused epimeres III–IV, epimeral formula 3-1-2-2; setiform setae, slender, covered with granular cerotegument, only tips uncovered; 3c (18–20) longer than 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 3a, 4a, 4b (9–12). Discidium not developed. Pedotecta I and II rounded, well developed.

Anogenital region ( Figures 28 View FIGURES 27–29 , 31 View FIGURES 30–31 , 37 View FIGURES 32–37 ). Genital opening size (42–57 × 41–57), six pairs of genital setae (7–13), setiform, thin and covered with granular cerotegument at base, one of them displaced.Aggenital seta (8–10) setiform, smooth. Anal opening size (43–52 × 41–48), anal setae (7–12), setiform, small and smooth, adanal setae similar in appearance to anal setae but larger (13–18), ad 1–2 postanal. Lyrifissure iad adanal. A sclerotized band surrounds posterior part of anal plate and passes through adanal setae; posterior edge of ventral plate with slight incision.

Legs ( Figures 34, 36 View FIGURES 32–37 , 38–41 View FIGURES 38–44 ). Legs tridactyl, heterodactyl, the median claw shorter than the lateral ones. Proximal half of femora I–II elongate and narrow. Setae blackened distally, probably by arrangement of cerotegument; solenidia φ arranged on tubercles, prominent on leg I–II ( Figure 34 View FIGURES 32–37 ), small on remaining ones; famulus between solenidia, small, completely covered with cerotegument (not drawn). Porous areas of femur I–II dorso-posterior ( Figures 36 View FIGURES 32–37 , 38–39 View FIGURES 38–44 ), III–IV completely posterior ( Figures 40–41 View FIGURES 38–44 ). Formula of setae and solenidia: I (1-5-3-5-16) [1-2-2], II (1-5-3-3-15) [1-1-2], III (2-3-1-3-15) [1-1-0], IV (1-2-2-2-12) [0-1-0] (table 2).

Type deposition. The holotype and six paratypes preserved in 70% alcohol and glycerin, and was deposited in the collection of Colección Nacional de Ácaros ( CNAC), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ( UNAM) and one paratype preserved in 70% alcohol and glycerin, was deposited in the mite collection of the Colegio de Postgraduados, México .

Etymology. The name “ cochlearia ” comes from the Latin cochlear meaning “spoon” and refers to the elongated and concave shape of the notogastral, lamellar and interlamellar setae, a distinctive characteristic of this species.

Remarks: The new species resembles E. (Licnocepheus) matildebellae Mahunka & Palacios Vargas, 1995 by the presence of medially meeting costulae with a transcostula and notogaster divided by a longitudinal ridge and transverse ridges in several fields. However, it clearly differs by body size (344–387 × 190–228 vs. 213–258 × 110–132), shape of lamellar, interlamellar and notogastral setae (lamellar setiform, interlamellar and notogastral: phylliform vs all cymbiform), shape and size of the bothridial setae (long with flabellate head vs short with globose head) and ventral ornamentation of the integument (foveolate vs smooth). Eremella cochlearia is the longest species described so far, being 10% longer than the next longer species ( E. ryabinini ) and 80% longer than the smallest known species ( E. reticulatus ).