South African Mites of the Superfamily Uropodoidea (Acarina)

Description of Metagynella masani sp. n. from Kenya (Acari: Uropodina)

“…The form of the female genital shield is unique in this genus. Another African species, Metagynella africana Ryke, 1958, is similar to the new species; the female of M. africana has an oval form of genital shield, three pairs of setae are near the margin of ventral shield and the distances between these setae are equal. The female of the new species has a subtriangular genital shield, four pairs of setae are near the margin of ventral shield and the distances between these setae are unequal, the distance between two setae (near the anus) is shorter than the distances between the other setae.…”

“…Sternal shield without sculptural pattern, four sternal setae short, smooth and needle-like, setae St2 absent [chaetotaxy according to Camin (1953) and Ryke (1958)]. St5 near anterior margin of genital shield and placed in small pit.…”

“…Recently, only 15 Metagynella species are known world-wide: five species are known from the Indo-Malay region, four species from North and Central America, one species from Cuba, one species from Japan, one species from Madagascar, two species from Europe and one species from Africa (Wiśniewski 1993;Wiśniewski & Hirschmann 1993). The African species, Metagynella africana Ryke, 1958, was described from South Africa; it was collected near Potchefstroom (Ryke 1958).…”