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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #362233
Research Project: Plant Feeding Mite (Acari) Systematics

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Two new species of Tenuipalpus sensu stricto (Acari; Tenuipalpidae) from Brazil, with a discussion on the ontogeny of leg setae

Author
item CASTRO, E. - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item Bauchan, Gary
item FERES, RJF - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/18/2019
Publication Date: 1/30/2019
Citation: Castro, E.B., Ochoa, R., Bauchan, G.R., Feres, R. 2019. Two new species of Tenuipalpus sensu stricto (Acari; Tenuipalpidae) from Brazil, with a discussion on the ontogeny of leg setae. Zootaxa. 4540(1):178-210.

Interpretive Summary: The Amazon and the Cerrado are the two largest biomes in Brazil, and combined represent nearly 70% of the natural vegetation in Brazil. Recent surveys of the mite fauna present in these two biomes have revealed a great number of new species. Flat mites are plant feeding mites of increasing economic significance across the world. We describe 2 new species of Tenuipalpidae mites. All mite species considered here were specific to one host. In this study these mites are examined using low-temperature scanning electron microscopy, which for the first time provides detailed descriptions of all stages of development of these mites. Research scientists, growers, and USDA-APHIS will use this information for the identification of potential pests in the U.S.

Technical Abstract: The Amazon and the Cerrado are the two largest biomes in Brazil, and combined represent nearly 70% of the natural vegetation in the country. Recent surveys of the mite fauna present in these two biomes have revealed a great number of new species. In this paper, we describe the adult females, deutonymphs, protonymphs, larvae and eggs of two new species of Tenuipalpidae (Trombidiformes: Tetranychoidea), Tenuipalpus protium sp. nov., collected on Protium heptaphyllum (Burseraceae), and Tenuipalpus kitajimai sp. nov., collected on an unidentified plant of the family Sapindaceae, from the Cerrado and the Amazon Rainforest, respectively. Females of these two new species bear two distinct cuticular crests on the dorsal opisthosoma, one transverse crest anteriorly and one longitudinal crest mesally. The ontogenetic changes in the idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy of all stages are presented for both species. Adult males are not known for either species.