First record of Acarophenacidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) from Mexico, with description of a new species of Paracarophenax associated with Cerambycidae (Insecta: Coleoptera)

Overview & Synopsis

Paracarophenax (Acari: Heterostigmata: Acarophenacidae) comprises eight distinct species of egg parasitoids associated mainly with various beetles, distributed across different global regions. In this study, a new species of Paracarophenax was found associated with cerambycid beetles´ collection samples deposited in the Colección de Insectos de la Universidad de Morelos, Morelos, Mexico. The aim of this paper is to describe the ninth species of the Paracarophenax, and provide an updated taxonomic key of the genus. The new species can be separated from others congeners by the presence of one spiniform seta on genu II, the seta l’ on femur I slightly spatulate, one seta on femur III, setae e slightly longer than f, and the distance between setae e and f slightly longer or equal to the distance between setae h1 and h2. This study reports the family Acarophenacidae for the first time from Mexico, and the genus Paracarophenax from the Neotropical Region.