New Species of the Genus Panchoronyssus (Acari:

Macronyssidae) on Tonatia evotis (Chiroptera:

Phyllostomidae) in Southeastern Mexico
JUAN B. MORALES-MALACARA
Laboratorio de Acarologia, Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico, Coyoacdn 04510 Mexico,
Distrito Federal, Mexico

J. Med. Entomol. 29(3): 556-560 (1992)

ABSTRACT The new species Parichoronyssus radovskyi was found on the bat Tonatia
evotis in Quintana Roo and Chiapas, Mexico. The female, male, and protonymph are
described and illustrated.
KEY WORDS Arachnida, Parichoronyssus radovskyi, bat ectoparasites, taxonomy

THE GENUS Parichoronyssus Radovsky, 1966, includes four species of bat ectoparasites (Radovsky 1966,1967): P. sclerus Radovsky, 1966; P.
crassipes Radovsky, 1967; P. cyrtosternum Radovsky, 1967, and P. euthysternum Radovsky,
1967. These mites have been found on bats in
the families Phyllostomidae, Emballonuridae,
Noctilionidae, and Mormoopidae in the Neotropical Region; the data are detailed in Table 1.
A fifth species in the genus Parichoronyssus is
described herein. It represents the third species
of the genus found in Mexico and the first species of macronyssid known to occur on Tonatia
evotis. This new species of mite was collected
from three female bats taken in southeastern
Mexico. The bats are deposited in the Instituto
de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de
Mexico collection (IBUNAM). For each host bat
in the type series, the IBUNAM catalog number
and the collector's field number (S&nchezHerrera et al. 1986; Medellin 1986) are given.
The nomenclature for the idiosomal chaetotaxy
is that used by Radovsky (1967). All measurements are in micrometers.
Parichoronyssus radovskyi Morales-Malacara,
new species
(Fig. 1-5)
Diagnosis. Female dorsal plate with 13 pairs of
setae; 1 seta on peritremal plate of female. Sternal glands absent. Epigynial plate without accessory setae. Anal plate with anterior margin not
interrupted by perianal zone. Ventral ridge of
coxa I with projecting hyaline margin and distinctive cuplike depression distal to that ridge.
Setae of hypostome and palpal trochanter all
present.
Female (Fig. 1-2). Dorsum (Fig. 2). Dorsal
plate with 13 pairs of setae: F3, T, Sc, and S2

large and robust, the other setae small. Setae Dl,

D2, D3, D4, D7, and I absent, but their positions
are indicated by trichopores. SI entirely absent.
Dorsal integument with 6 pairs of small setae, 5
pairs laterally flanking dark area of dorsal plate
covered by striate cuticle; anterior two pairs of
setae on edge of dark area and medial to anterior
and middle portions of peritreme, respectively;
third pair at level of and dorsal to stigma; fourth
and fifth pairs slightly longer than other setae on
unarmed dorsum and situated near level of S6;
sixth pair on posterior margin, longest of all. Peritreme short, ending on dorsum near level of
posterior margin of coxa II. Peritremal plate
bearing 1 seta. Venter (Fig. 1). Tritosternum bipartite with laciniae smooth and short. Setae on
armed and unarmed idiosomal venter rather long
and robust, especially anteriorly. Sternal plate as
long as wide; presternal region concave; anterolateral angles of plate formed as short flanges;
lateral margins almost straight; posterior margin
very weakly arched between angles on posterolateral corners; without sternal glands; 3 pairs of
sternal pores, with third pair posterior to St3 and
on posterolateral angles of plate; Epigynial plate
rather narrow; lateral margins slightly concave at
level of epigynial setae, narrowed abruptly near
posterior end, with bluntly pointed tip; with pair
of epigynial setae near midlength of plate; without accessory setae. Anal plate subtriangular; anterior margin slightly sinuous, not interrupted by
weakly sclerotized perianal zone; cribrum with
three rows of denticles. Unarmed opisthosomal
venter with 28 or 29 setal pairs. Legs. Coxa I with
ventral ridge extending anteriad from base of
proximal seta and with projecting hyaline margin
and distinctive cuplike depression distal to
ridge; posterior distal margin of coxa (in conjunction with cuplike depression) formed into projecting hooklike process with distal coxal seta on

0022-2585/92/0556-0560$02.00/0 1992 Entomological Society of America

May 1992

MORALES-MALACARA:

Parichoronyssus radovskyi,

557

NEW SPECIES

Table 1. Host and location data for known species of Parichoronyssus

Species of
Parichoronyssus
P. sclents

Location

Reference

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Quelchultenango, Guerrero, Mexico
Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico
Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico

Radovsky 1966
Palacios-Vargas et al. 1985
Morales-Malacara 1982
Palacios-Vargas &
Morales-Malacara 1983
Radovsky 1967
Radovsky 1967
Saunders 1975
Radovsky 1967
Saunders 1975
Saunders 1975
Saunders 1975
Saunders 1975
Bassols de Barrera 1979
Bassols de Barrera 1979
Bassols de Barrera 1979
Radovsky 1967
Saunders 1975

Host
Glossophaga soricina
Anoura geoffroyi lasiopyga

P. crassipes

Phyllostomus spp.
Carollia perspicillata

P. euthysternum

Sturnira ludovici

P. cyrtosternum

Sturnira lilium
Carollia brevicauda
Noctilio labialis
Artibeus sp.
Sturnira sp.
Pteronotus sp.
Saccopteryx bilineata

Orosi Church, Costa Rica

Canal Zone, Panama
Venezuela
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela
Mexico
Mexico
Mexico
Caroni, Trinidad, West Indies
Venezuela

its end. Coxa II ventral ridge with projecting

hyaline margin. Coxa III ridge with narrow hyaline margin. Coxa IV ridge without hyaline margin. Setation of legs as in Table 2. Gnathosoma.
Deutosternal groove with 8 or 9 denticles. Distal
hypostomal setae present, slightly smaller (45)

than outer proximal setae (66.5). Palpal trochanter with lateral seta longer (25-26) than
length of segment (17-18), medial seta small (4).
Measurements. Holotype 9 (followed in parentheses by range and mean of 16 paratype 9 9
[exceptions noted]): idiosoma length 419 (337-

Fig. 1 and 2. Parichoronyssus radovskyi, n. sp., female. (1) Venter. (2) Dorsum.

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JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY

Vol. 29, no. 3

(20-30, 27 [n = 16]); T, 32 (27-34, 32 [n = 16]);

Sc, 36 (29-38, 36 [n = 16]); S2, 34 (30-36, 33 [n
Leg
= 16]); D8, 12 (12-13, 12 [n = 16]).
Segment
IV
I
III
II
Male. Smaller than female. Dorsum. Dorsal
1
Coxa
2
2
2
plate with 13 pairs of setae as in female. Five
Trochanter
0 1
0 0
1 0
1 0
small setal pairs on unarmed integument flank1-.-2
l-.-l
l-.-l
1-.-0
ing
dorsal plate. Peritremal plate without setae.
1 1
1 1
12
1 2
Venter. Ventral region of holoventral plate with
Femur
1 2
2 1
3 1
16 (12 in paratype) setae (Fig. 3). Unarmed
1--3
O-.-l
1-.-0
opisthosoma with 10 or 11 (13 or 14 in paratype)
1 3
20
1 0
setae on each side of holoventral plate. Legs.
Genu
6 1
2 2
1 1
1 1
2-,-2
2-,-2
2-.-1
1-.-0
Coxae I, II, and III ridges with narrow hyaline
1 1
1 1
1 1
2 1
margin (Fig. 3); coxa IV ridge without hyaline
Tibia
2 1
6 1
0 1
0 1
margin. Coxa I with cuplike depression and dis2-,-2
2-,-2
2-.-1
l-.-l
tal setae as in female. Gnathosoma. Hypostomal
1 1
1 1
1 1
2 1
and palpal trochanter setae as in female, except
Tarsus
2 12
1 0 2
1 02
1 - - - 2 lateral seta of palpal trochanter subequal to
3 -, -, - 3 2 - - , - 3

4 3 3
3 12
5 12
length of segment. Measurements. Allotype 8
(followed in parentheses by paratype d): idiosoma length 327 (319), width 211 (199); dorsal
445, 408), width at level of peritreme 253 (211- plate length 292 (294), width 152 (144); holoven253,239); dorsal plate length 326 (310-328,322), tral plate length 215 (242), width at level of setae
width at level of setae S2 162 (142-164, 157); St2 97 (92). Setae lengths: F l , 8 (7); F3, 20 (24);
sternal plate length at level of Stl 96 (90-104, T, 24 (30); Sc, 28 (32); S2, 28 (31); D8, 7 (7).
98), width near middle of plate 96 (88-112, 99).
Protonymph. Idiosoma with 28.5 setal pairs.
Setal lengths: F l , 6 (6-7, 6 [n = 16]); F3, 28 Podosomal plate with 6 pairs of setae (Fig. 5); F3
to
O J tO
to I to
to

Table 2. Leg chaetotaxy of the female of P. radovskyi

0.1mm

0.03mm

Fig. 3-5. Parichoronyssus radovskyi, n. sp. (3) Holoventral plate and coxae of male. (4) Coxa I of protonymph.
(5) Protonymph dorsum.

May 1992

MORALES-MALACARA:

Parichoronyssus radovskyi,

medium in size; T, Sc, and S2 moderately long

and robust; Dl, D2, D3, and D4 lacking but
represented by trichopores. Unarmed dorsum
with 10 pairs of setae, of which the two smallest
pairs flank the podosomal plate. Anal plate subtriangular, with anterior margin not interrupted
by perianal zone. Ventral ridges present on coxae
I and IV; coxa I with lateral ridge, subtriangular
in shape, extending from middle of coxa anteriad
to a concavity (spoonlike depression), with distal
seta between depression and distal margin of
coxa; another, proximomedial curved ridge projecting mediad and with narrow hyaline margin;
distal setae small and proximal setae long (Fig.
4). Medial setae of palpal trochanter lacking.
Measurements. 1 protonymphal paratype (followed in parentheses by range and mean of 10
other protonymphal paratypes [exceptions
noted]): idiosoma length 287 (287-^343, 323),
width at level of peritreme 191 (185-232, 212);
podosomal plate length 181 (176-197, 189),
width at level of setae S2 121 (119-135, 128);
pygidial plate length 23 (23-31, 28 [n = 9]),
width 76 (72-78, 74 [n = 9]). Setae lengths: Fl, 5
(3-5,4); F3,10 (7-12, 9); T, 29 (27-34,31); Sc, 30
(30-37,33); S2,26 (25-32,28); S3,5 (4-6,5); D8,
15 (9-15, 13).
Type Series. Holotype 9,5 paratype 9 9 and 8
paratype protonymphs ex Tonatia evotis 9, 4 km
S, 1 km W Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico,
22.IV.83, H. Arita (HAW 339) (IBUNAM 20114).
Allotype 6, 8 paratype 9 9 , 1 paratype 6 and 2
paratype protonymphs ex Tonatia evotis 9, same
data but 19.IV.83 (HAW 329) (IBUNAM 20113).
3 paratype 9 9 and 1 paratype protonymph ex
Tonatia evotis 9, Arroyo Jose\ Estaci6n Chajul
Secretaria de Desarrollo Urbano y Ecologia,
Reserva Montes Azules, Ocosingo, Chiapas,
Mexico, 28.1.86, J. Galvjin (JGS 778) (IBUNAM
23725).
The holotype, allotype, 3 paratype 9 9 and 3
protonymphal paratypes are deposited in the
Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.
The remaining paratypes are in the MoralesMalacara collection (4 9 9, 1 6, 2 protonymphs);
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. ( 1 9 , 1 protonymph); American Museum of Natural History,
New York ( 1 9 , 1 protonymph); British Museum
(Natural History), London (3 9 9, 1 protonymph); and Anita Hoffmann collection in the
Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico (4 9 9 , 3 protonymphs).
Etymology. The species name is dedicated to
Frank J. Radovsky, a great specialist on macronyssid mites.

Discussion
Parichoronyssus radovskyi is a Neotropical
species and represents the fifth species named in

NEW SPECIES

559

the genus Parichoronyssus and the third recorded from Mexico.

Parichoronyssus radovskyi is separated from
the other known species in its genusP. sclerus,
P. crassipes, P. cyrtosternum, and P. euthysternumby the reduced number of dorsal setae,
the peculiar shape of the ventral ridge on coxa I,
and the presence of a cuplike depression distal to
that ridge, and the absence of all accessory setae
on the epyginial plate. Some features of P. radovskyi are similar to those of P. sclerus, including the presence of all the usual setae of the
hypostome and the palpal trochanter and a single
seta on the peritremal plate. Females of P. euthysternum and P. crassipes are notably similar
to P. radovskyi only in that the anterior margin of
the anal plate is not interrupted.
The presence of P. radovskyi on T. evotis conforms with the primary host family association of
other Parichoronyssus spp. (i.e., phyllostomid
bats). The presence of P. radovskyi on T. evotis
from two different localities suggests that it is a
monoxenous species. If so, its distribution may
be related to that of T. evotis, which occurs
mainly in lowland tropical rain forests from Honduras to the southeastern states of Mexico
(Medellin & Arita 1989).

Acknowledgment
For providing helpful guidance, comments, suggestions, and review of this manuscript, I am indebted to
Frank J. Radovsky (North Carolina State Museum of
Natural Sciences, Raleigh). The field work that resulted in the collection of the ectoparasitic mites was
performed by teams led by Hector Arita, Juan Galvdn,
and Rodrigo Medellin; it was supported by Consejo
Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia and in part by Banco
Interamericano de Desarrollo. Oscar S&nchez-Herrera
(Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Aut<5noma de Mexico) was most
helpful in allowing access to the mammal collection.
For her comments on a draft of the manuscript, I express my appreciation to Anita Hoffmann (Laboratorio
de Acarologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mexico). This paper is a contribution to the continuing project Estudios Bioespeleol6gicos de Mexico.

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Medellin, R. A. 1986. La comunidad de murcielagos
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Medellin, R. A. & H. T. Arita. 1989. Tonatia evotis
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Morales-Malacara, J. B. 1982. Acaros asociados a
murcie'lagos de la Cruta de Aguacachil, Taxco,
Guerrero. Folia Entomol. Mex. 54: 107-109.

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Received for publication 18 June 1991; accepted 28
August 1991.