Morphological analysis of the oribatid mite species Scutovertex pannonicus Schuster and description of its juvenile stages (Acari: Oribatida: Scutoverticidae).

This paper provides a detailed redescription of the adult as well as the first morphological description of all juvenile instars (inclusive egg, prelarva and earlier larval stages) of Scutovertex pannonicus. The adults are characterized by their relatively large size (692-892 µm), their well developed sharply bordered foveae which are regularly distributed on the whole notogaster, except in the central field and the posterior notogastral brush-like setae ps1, h1,-h3. The exochorion of the eggs shows the typical structures for the genus Scutovertex like 'mushrooms' and granules with the species-specific expression of the 'mushrooms' and its substructures. The exochorion is covered with an extra thin layer which is typical for this species. The larva and the nymphs can be distinguished from those of S. sculptus and S. minutus mainly by their lateral setae l' and l" on tibia I which are strongly serrated and slightly broadened.