Two Marine Halacarid Species of the Genus Copidognathus (Acari, Halacaridae) from Korea

Abstract

We report two marine halacarid species of the genus Copidognathus from Korean waters. Both species belong to the C. gibbus group based on the characteristics of a large triangular projection on the dorsal surfaces of basifemora III and IV and well-developed lateral lamellae of telofemora and tibiae of legs I–IV. Copidognathus n. sp. is the most similar to C. strigellus Bartsch, 1994 in the absence of rosette pores on idiosoma and equal length of tarsus I–IV, but differs from it having the two pairs of weak longitudinal lines on the posterior dorsal plate, a conspicuous elongated dorsal seta on the posterior epimeral plate, and partly fused between the anterior epimeral plate and genitoanal plate in both female and male. Copidognatus vicinus Bartsch, 1997 is characterized by a large frontal spine with rosette pores, a pair of areolae in the AD triangular, and a pair of curved costae anterolaterally on the posterior dorsal plate. We provide detailed illustrations of them and a comparative table of two species with Copidognathus gibbus group species.