Unionicola heversi Smit 2021, n. sp

Unionicola heversi n. sp. Zoobank: AA0F66D6-6FE2-48D7-8447-A149 AD 276899 (Figure 22 A-D) Material examined. Holotype female, pool 1 Ankasa NP, Ghana, 5°17.407′ N 2°38.378′ W, 59 m a.s.l., 26 Feb. 2011 (RMNH). Diagnosis. Cx-II and Cx-III with anterolaterally with a pointed extension; palp stocky, especially P4, this segment with two setal tubercles and anteromedially a stout pointed seta, P5 with large claws, ventrally with two claws but only visible in a skew position. Description. Female: Idiosoma dorsally 745 long and 656 wide, ventrally 689 long. Anterior coxae with short apodemes, extending to Cx-III. Cx-II anterolaterally with a pointed triangular extension, Cx-III anterolaterally with a broader, pointed extension (Figure 22A). Posterior margin of Cx-IV with a short projection. Genital field with five pairs of acetabula on two pairs of platelets, all platelets with long posterior setae. Anterior platelets with two acetabula each, posterior pair with three acetabula each. Unfortunately, the genital field is distorted in the slide. Palp stocky, especially P4, the latter segment with two setal tubercles and a short, stout pointed seta anteromedially. P5 with large claws, ventrally with two claws but only visible in a skew position as these are lying behind each other (Figure 22 B-C). Length of I-leg-4–6: 203, 227, 158. Long setae of first leg not fluted or grooved (Figure 22D). Length of IV-leg-4–6: 251, 316, 284. IV-leg-5 with three, IV-leg-4 with two swimming setae. Male: Unknown. Etymology. Named after Jürgen Hevers for his excellent work on the genus Unionicola. Remarks. The palp with its large claws is somewhat similar to palps of U. dentifera Cook, 1966 and U. cooki Bader, 1981, but these species have the coxae with very large anterolateral extensions.
Published as part of Smit, Harry, 2021, Water mites from West Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia), pp. 700-746 in Acarologia 61 (3) on page 734, DOI: 10.24349/5d6U-DX5N, http://zenodo.org/record/7159546
{"references":["Bader C. 1981. Wassermilben aus Westafrika (Acari, Prostigmata, Hydrachnellae). Rev. zool. Afric., 95: 927 - 953."]}