Ardeacarus ardeae ( Canestrini, 1878 )

Han, Yeong-Deok, Song, Ji-Hun & Min, Gi-Sik, 2016, New record of two feather mites (Acari: Sarcoptiformes: Astigmata) from Korea, Journal of Species Research 5 (3), pp. 324-332 : 327-331

2. Ardeacarus ardeae ( Canestrini, 1878)

백로날fflẍűΞή (ṳAE) ( Figs. 6­8 )

Synonyms. Dermaleichus ardeae Canestrini, 1878: 51 .

Ardeacarus ardeae : Dubinin, 1951: 125, fig. 1; 1956: 126­140, figs. 38 and 39; Gaud, 1981: 861, fig. 1; Gaud and Atyeo, 1996: Part II, 311, fig. 322.

Material examined. Korea: 3♂♂, 3$$, Eumseong­gun , Chungcheongbuk­do, 36°56′N, 127°41′E, April 26, 2015, collected using vacuum machine from flight feathers on the wings of little egret Egretta garzetta by Han Y.­D .

Diagnosis. Male ( Fig. 6 ): Length 310­315 of idiosoma from anterior end to bases of setae h3. Width 215­235 at level of setae c2.

Gnathosoma ( Figs. 6 , 8A ): Subtriangular­shaped, sclerotized posterolateral margin, length 75­85 together with palps, width 95­113.

Prodorsal shield ( Fig. 8A ): Rectangular­shaped, each angles rounded. Length at base of seta vi 60­70, width 58­68, with one internal vertical seta (vi) of filiform. Setae si situated under prodorsal shield, at same transverse level with setae sc.

Hysteronotal shield ( Fig. 8A ): Anterior part slightly concave or straight, anterior angles rounded. Length 180­185 from anterior margin to base of setae h3, width 150­155 at level of setae cp. Setae f2, h2 and h3 long hair­like shaped. Setae c3 situated at same transverse level with setae cp.

Sternum ( Fig. 8B ): Epimerites I not fused. Setae 4b situated on slightly posterior to level of setae 3a. Genital apparatus smooth crowns­shaped, situated at epimerites IV.

Legs ( Fig. 6 ): Tarsi, tibiae, genua and femora of legs I­IV longer than wide. Each length of Tarsi I­IV as long as tibia and genu combined.

Female: length 375­400 of idiosoma from anterior end to bases of setae h3, width 250­285 at level of setae c2 ( Fig. 7 ).

Gnathosoma ( Fig. 7 ): Shaped as in male, length 85­93 including palps. Width 103­113.

Prodorsal shield ( Fig. 7 ): Shaped as in male. Length 68­75 at based of setae vi. Width 68­73.

Hysteronotal shield ( Fig. 8C ): Anterior part slightly concave or straight, posterior margin concave. Length 175­178, width 175­185 at based of setae d2.

Sternum ( Fig. 8D ): Epigynum crescent­shaped, length 30­38, width 78­80. Setae g situated at posterior part of epigynum. Oviporus folds located between epimerites III and IV. Posterior margin of opisthosoma is rounded, with long hair­like setae h2 and h3.

Remarks. Ardeacarus ardeae is the sole species in the genus Ardeacarus and was originally described without illustration by Canestrini (1878) based on the specimens collected from little bitterns Ixobrychus minutus in Europe. Thereafter, this species was redescribed by several mite taxonomists with detailed morphological descriptions and illustrations ( Dubinin, 1951; 1956; Gaud, 1981; Gaud and Atyeo, 1996). Their descriptions and illustrations are very similar, except for some differences in the length of the setae sci, and the positions of the setae on the ventral part and hysteronotal shield. Korean specimens are well matched with those of Gaud (1981) and Gaud and Atyeo (1996), although some differences were found in the following characteristics: (1) setae g were situated on the anterior tips of epimerites III in males; and (2) setae 3a were situated anterior to the level of setae 4b in females.

Host. Specimens were collected from the surface of flight feathers on the wings of little egret Egretta garzetta .

Distribution. Worldwide ( Dubinin, 1951; 1956; Gaud, 1981; 1996).

Deposition. NIBR No. NIBRIV0000542807­00005428 12.

Molecular characteristics. The COI sequences with 606 bp lengths were obtained from three individuals of A. ardeae (GenBank accession numbers: KX610952­54). The sequence alignment did not contain any insertions or deletions. No frame shift was detected during amino acid conversion with the invertebrate mitochondrial genetic code.

Identifiers. Yeong­Deok Han and Gi­Sik Min.

Figures

Fig. 6. Ardeacarus ardeae, male. Scale bar: 0.2 mm.

Fig. 7. Ardeacarus ardeae, female. Scale bar: 0.2 mm.

Fig. 8. Ardeacarus ardeae. A, dorsal idiosoma view of male; B, ventral idiosoma view of male; C, dorsal idiosoma view of female; D, ventral idiosoma view of female. Scale bars:A­D=0.1 mm.