Description of Two species of the Genus Agauopsis (Acari: Halacaridae) from Korea

Abstract

Two marine halacarid species of the genus Agauopsis Viets, 1927 (Acari: Halacaridae) are newly reported from Korea, which are supposed to be new to science tentatively. Agauopsis sp. 1 belongs to microrhyncha-group in having one ventral and three ventromedial spines on tibia of leg 1, of which two ventromedial ones are adjacent to each other. Agauopsis sp. 1 is most similar to A. miliaris Bartsch, 2005 in sharing the same chaetotaxy of legs and positions of the second and fourth dorsal setae, however, the former differs from the latter by the number of perigenital setae in female, with 4 pairs in Agauopsis sp. 1 versus 3 pairs in A. miliaris. Agauopsis sp. 2, belonging to the ornata-group by the conspicuous garland-like arrangement of porose polygons on anterior epimeral plate, resembles the congeneric species with one thick pectinate seta on tibia of leg 2, A. pseudoornata Bartsch, 1985, A. calidictyota Bartsch, 2007, A. zanzibari Chatterjee, Pesic, Chan & De Troch, 2009. However, Agauopsis sp. 2 is distinguished from the three species above by bearing six setae of telofemur of leg 2 (against five setae in them). We present description of both species herein, and conduct systematic accounts on them with providing character comparison tables, detailed illustrations and photomicrographs under a differential interference contrast microscope. A key to the four species of the genus Agauopsis recorded from Korea is also p three ventromedial spines on tibia of leg 1, of which two ventromedial ones are adjacent to each other. Agauopsis sp. 1 is most similar to A. miliaris Bartsch, 2005 in sharing the same chaetotaxy of legs and positions of the second and fourth dorsal setae, however, the former differs from the latter by the number of perigenital setae in female, with 4 pairs in Agauopsis sp. 1 versus 3 pairs in A. miliaris. Agauopsis sp. 2, belonging to the ornata-group by the conspicuous garland-like arrangement of porose polygons on anterior epimeral plate, resembles the congeneric species with one thick pectinate seta on tibia of leg 2, A. pseudoornata Bartsch, 1985, A. calidictyota Bartsch, 2007, A. zanzibari Chatterjee, Pesic, Chan & De Troch, 2009. However, Agauopsis sp. 2 is distinguished from the three species above by bearing six setae of telofemur of leg 2 (against five setae in them). We present description of both species herein, and conduct systematic accounts on them with providing character comparison tables, detailed illustrations and photomicrographs under a differential interference contrast microscope. A key to the four species of the genus Agauopsis recorded from Korea is also p