Piona longipalpis
On the male, the pair of the fused third and fourth coxae
are lying together along the median line.
The genital fields lay against the (deep) genital pit
and are fused with the fourth coxae.
The female has a wider median space between the pair of the fused third and fourth coxae.
The genital fields are smaller than those of the male. They are connected medial with a
small chitin bridge. And because the genital pore is larger than that of the male, their
distance to the coxae is larger.
Piona coccinea
By the striking large genital fields with the many acetabula, you can easily
recognise Piona longipalpis, the feature is more striking than the longer palps that
gave the species its name. I think they look like solidified foam. According to the
identification keys, there are more than 60 acetabula on one field (Smit, 2018 and Viets,
1936). Viets (1936) adds that the female has two larger acetabula on each field, but that is
not clearly visible here. At the picture of the male though, we can see a larger acetabule
on each side of the genital pit.
Among the scooped watermites was not only P. longipalpis, but also specimen of the
more common Piona coccinea. Compare the ventral side of the
(female) specimen on the picture at right, with that of the P. longipalpis female
above. P. coccinea also has quite a number of acetabula, but less than 60. And the
genital fields are relatively smaller and more separate from each other. And the coxae and
legs have a lighter colour.
Left: a ventral view of the palp of the male specimen P. longipalpis, with the two
larger pegs on P-IV (the fourth segment). Viets (1936) called the peg(s)
"Haarhöcker", meaning hairbump(s).
P. coccinea also has two larger pegs on P-IV.
Ventral side of the male (trapped in a small drop of water)
Detail male: third leg foot (III-P-6) and
the concave segment on the fourth leg (IV-P-4).
Please click on the pictures below to see other pages on Piona longipalpis.
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Gerard Visser (Aadorp,
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© G.H. Visser 24-04-2022
rev. 03-05-2022
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