Holotype • ♂, dissected and slide mounted, Portugal, Guarda, Manteigas, Poço do Inferno (Fig. 5E), 40.373°N, 7.516°W, 1078 m a.s.l., 21 Aug. 2023, leg. Ferreira, Benitez-Bosco & Padilha, sequenced (BOLD ID: BSNTN984-23). Paratypes: • 1♂, 1♀ (sequenced), Portugal, Guarda, Manteigas, Poio do Leão, 40.399°N, 7.541°W, 734 m a.s.l., 22 Aug. 2023, leg. Ferreira, Benitez-Bosco & Padilha, 1♀ dissected and slide mounted (RMNH).

Morphological: Shoulder platelets fused with dorsal plate; dorsal shield with color pattern as illustrated in Figs 4B, 5B; Cxgl–4 subapical; medial suture line of Cx-II+III in male relatively long; ejaculatory complex with poorly developed anterior keel and a relatively large proximal chamber. Molecular: this lineage represent by a unique BIN (BOLD:AFW5336) differs from T.lundbladi clade by 9.8% K2P for COI.

General features. Idiosoma oval; shoulder platelets fused to dorsal plate, but suture line visible; dorsal shield with a color pattern as illustrated in Figs 4B, 5B; area of primary sclerotization of the dorsal plate with four dorsoglandularia (Fig. 3A); gnathosomal bay U-shaped, proximally rounded; Cxgl–4 subapical; excretory pore and Vgl-2 on the the line of primary sclerotization, excretory pore on the level of Vgl-2; gnathosomal ventral margin curved, rostrum elongated (Fig. 3D); P-2 ventral margin nearly straight or slightly concave, P-2 and P-3 ventrodistal protrusions bluntly pointed, P-4 with a ventral tubercle bearing one long and three shorter setae (Figs 3C, 4D). Male — Medial suture line of Cx-II+III relatively long; genital field subrectangular; ejaculatory complex with poorly developed anterior keel, proximal chamber relatively large; Fig. 3E). Female — Genital field large and pentagonal in shape.

Male (holotype). Idiosoma (ventral view: Fig. 3B) L 856, W 691; dorsal shield (Fig. 3A) L 731, W 619, L/W ratio 1.18; dorsal plate L 681; frontal plate L 173–183, W 64–66, L/W ratio 2.7–2.8. Gnathosomal bay L 194, Cx-I total L 383, Cx-ImL 188, Cx-II+III mL 131; ratio Cx-I L/Cx-II+III mL 2.92; Cx-ImL/Cx-II+III mL 1.43. Genital field L/W 183/150, ratio 1.22; distance genital field-excretory pore 103, genital field-caudal idiosoma margin 127. Ejaculatory complex L 275.

Gnathosoma vL 367, chelicera L 448; palp total L 390, dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 44/38, 1.17; P-2, 133/64, 2.08; P-3, 79/58, 1.36; P-4, 112/38, 2.98; P-5, 22/14, 1.55; L ratio P-2/P-4, 1.19. dL of I-L-4–6: 145, 160, 131; I-L-6 H 46; dL/H I-L-6 ratio 2.85.

Female (paratype from Poio do Leão, BGE_00227_H06). Idiosoma (ventral view: Fig. 4C) L 975, W 794; dorsal shield (Fig. 4A, B) L 806, W 663, L/W ratio 1.22; dorsal plate L 766; frontal plate L 172–175, W 63–68, L/W ratio 2.6–2.75. Gnathosomal bay L 203, Cx-I total L 391, Cx-ImL 188, Cx-II+III mL 0. Genital field L/W 214/204, ratio 1.05; distance genital field-excretory pore 256, genital field-caudal idiosoma margin 347. Egg (n = 1) maximum diameter 227.

Gnathosoma vL 379, chelicera L 478; palp total L 389, dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 41/36, 1.15; P-2, 130/64, 2.0; P-3, 80/59, 1.35; P-4, 116/40, 2.87; P-5, 22/14, 1.55; L ratio P-2/P-4, 1.13.

The new species is dedicated to Elisabeth Stur (NTNU University Museum Trondheim, Norway), who facilitated a number of barcoding projects on water mites in Europe.

The sequences retrieved from Torrenticola specimens from Portugal, here described as T.elisabethae sp. nov., appeared as a sister group to the cluster containing sequences of T.lundbladi (K. Viets, 1930), a rhitrobiontic species known from Spain (Lundblad 1956; Pešić et al. 2012). The mean K2P genetic distance between COI sequences of T.elisabethae sp. nov. and T.lundbladi was estimated at 9.8 ± 1.25%. The genetic distance was also here higher than the barcode gap found for Torrenticola in the ASAP analysis, supporting the species-status of the new taxon. The mean intraspecific divergence within the cluster of barcodes belonging to T.elisabethae was relatively low (0.2 ± 0.14% K2P).

The new species is most similar to Torrenticolalundbladi K. Viets, 1930, a species originally described from central Spain (K. Viets 1930). Both species have dorsal shield with the shoulder platelets partially fused with the dorsal plate, a similar color pattern of the dorsal shield, a Cxgl-4 situated subapically and a relatively long median suture line of Cx-II-III in male. Torrenticolalundbladi differs by the characteristic shape of the ejaculatory complex (proximal and distal arms short, proximal chamber large, proximal horns reduced, see Lundblad 1956: fig. 83E).

Portugal (this study).