A New Genus and Three New Species of the Mite Family Arctacaridae (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata) from North America

• Main Author: O. L. Makarova
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Tundra; Mite
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.560.9554; http://www.sevin.ru/laboratories/makarova-articles/proarctacarus.pdf

are described and the diagnosis of the family Arctacaridae is refined. The majority of records of species of the ge-nus Proarctacarus is associated with mountain coniferous forests. The regular arrangement of setae (transverse rows) and sigillae on the large soft opisthosoma suggests the presence of 10 abdominal segments (besides telson), including pregenital segment VII. The setae of this segment (2–3 pairs) are situated dorsolaterally at the border between podosoma and opisthosoma and are distinctly marked by the last row of podosomal setae (segment VI) and first complete row of opisthosomal setae associated with sigillae sg (genital segment VIII). The setae on pregenital segment VII are described in Mesostigmata for the first time. The taxonomic value of the character “presence/absence of ambulacrum I ” and the taxonomic position of the cohort Arctacarina are discussed. Until recently, the family Arctacaridae has been represented by a single genus Arctacarus Evans in-cluding three species: A. rostratus Evans, 1955, A. beringianus Bregetova, 1977, and A. dzungaricus Bregetova, 1977. Few findings of these species were limited to tundra and mountain regions of Middle