Minicaraboacarus quadridiscalis Hajiqanbar and Khaustov

Hajiqanbar, Hamidreza, Khaustov, Alexander, Kamali, Karim & Saboori, Alireza, 2008, A new genus and species of mites of the family Caraboacaridae (Acari: Heterostigmata) associated with carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Iran, Zootaxa 1788, pp. 57-65 : 59-64

Minicaraboacarus quadridiscalis Hajiqanbar and Khaustov n. sp.

( Figs. 1–6 )

Female: length of idiosoma 138 (122–157), width 104 (85–122)

Gnathosoma. length of gnathosoma 23 (20–24), width 40 (37–41), length of stylets 8 (8–9) (Figs. 1,2); seta ch 1 stiff, blunt ended 17 (15–18). Seta su 1 modified, button-like.

Idiosomal dorsum ( Fig. 1 ): All dorsal setae stiff, blunt ended and rough, all dorsal plates smooth, cupuli not evident, length of dorsal seta; v 1 19 (16–21), sc 2 22 (19–24), c 1 22 (22–24), c 2 30 (23–30), d 26 (22–26), f 22 (22–24), h 1 16 (16–17).

Idiosomal venter ( Fig. 2 ): epimeres I and II with one pair of suckers each, first distinctly smaller than second. Seta 2 b modified and button-like. Seta 3 c and 4 c very small, modified and button-like. All ventral plates are smooth. Apodemes I and II well developed and joined with presternal apodeme. Sejugal apodeme well sclerotized in its middle and lateral parts. Apodemes III and IV well developed. Apodemes V very short. Poststernal apodemes absent. Posterior margin of posterior sternal plate concave. Posterior margin of aggenital plate concave in middle part.

Length of ventral setae: 1 b 3 (3-3), 2 a 5 (4–5), 3 a 30 (26–30), 3 b 21 (18–21), 4 a 21 (18–20), 4 b 14 (13– 14), ag 1 12 (11–13), ag 2 13 (12–13), ps 9 (8–9).

Legs ( Figs. 3–6 ). Leg I ( Fig. 3 ); distinctly shorter and thiner than leg II, solenidion ω large, finger shaped 10 (8–9). Solenidion φ on tibia finger shaped 7 (7–8). Seta k saber-like. Seta d on femur long and little barbed at distal part, seta l’ curved and blunt ended. Leg II ( Fig. 4 ); seta d on femur stiff, blunt ended, weakly barbed, solenidion ω on tarsus finger shape 7 (6–7), solenidion φ on tibia uniformly thin 9 (8–9). Leg III ( Fig. 5 ); seta d on femur stiff, blunt ended, weakly barbed, solenidion φ on tibia uniformly thin 9 (8–8). Leg IV ( Fig. 6 ); setae d on femur and tibia stiff, blunt ended, weakly barbed, seta tc” on tarsus modified, thickened and flattened in proximal part, solenidion φ on tibia uniformly thin 12 (11–12).

Male and larva unknown.

Type material: Holotype female (Thf-3) found in Feizabad of Torbat Heidariyeh, Razawi Khorassan province, Northeastern Iran, 34° 57.380 N, 58° 45.301 E, altitude 895 meters, from under elytra of Cymbionotum semelederi ( Coleoptera : Carabidae ), collected by Hamidreza Hajiqanbar, 5 May 2007.

Paratypes- 8 females, same collection data as holotype.

Type depositories: Holotype deposited in the Acarological Collection, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. One paratype to each of the following: Zoological Institute, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; U.S. National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C., U.S.A.; Collection of Nikita Botanical Gardens, Yalta, Ukraine and Acarological Collection, Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. Balance of paratypes deposited with the holotype.

Etymology: The name of the new species refers to 4 discoidal suckers on ventral side of the female body.

Bionomics: The mites were found two times (3 mites on one beetle and 5 mites on another beetle) from under elytra and dorsal metathoracic tergites of Cymbionotum semelederi (Chaudoir, 1851) ( Coleoptera : Carabidae : Melaeninae: Melaenini). Based on Ball and Shpeley (2005), the genus Cymbionotum Baudi di Selve, 1864 includes 20 species, arranged in two subgenera. In the Eastern Hemisphere, the subgenus Cymbionotum (sensu stricto) includes 18 species in three species group. Among them, the semelederi species group occupies the temperate grassland vegetation zone, and marginally, the desert and semi-desert zone and is distributed in Palearctic Region from western Asian Afghanistan to northwestern Africa, and across the northern part of the Afrotropical Region.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Minicaraboacarus quadridiscalis n. gen., n. sp. female: 1, dorsum of the body. scale bar 50 μ.

FIGURE 2. Minicaraboacarus quadridiscalis n. gen., n. sp. female: 2, venter of the body. scale bar 50 μ.

FIGURES 3 – 6. Minicaraboacarus quadridiscalis n. gen., n. sp. female: 3 – 6, legs I – IV, respectively. scale bar 20 μ.