Proterothrix chachulae Constantinescu

Constantinescu, Ioana Cristina, Popa, Oana Paula, Popa, Luis Ovidiu, Ioana Cobzaru,, Mukhim, D. Khlur B. & Adam, Costică, 2017, A new feather mite species of the genus Proterothrix Gaud, 1968 (Acarina, Proctophyllodidae) from the Large Niltava, Niltavagrandis (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae) - an integrative description, ZooKeys 661, pp. 1-14 : 2-5

Proterothrix chachulae Constantinescu sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Type material.

Male holotype (ANA672), 6 male (ANA671, ANA673, ANA674, ANA675, ANA747(P2♂), ANA748(P1♂)) and 6 female (ANA676, ANA677, ANA678, ANA679, ANA680, ANA749(P1♀) paratypes, 27.01.2014, from the Large Niltava Niltava grandis grandis (Blyth) ( Passeriformes , Muscicapidae ); INDIA: Meghalaya, Jaintia Hills, Shnongrim village, (25°21'12.36"N, 92°31'3.06"E); 1151 m; subtropical forest; collector D. K. B. Mukhim.

Description.

MALE (Figs 1; 2; 3; holotype, range for 6 paratypes in parentheses): Pseudorutellar lobes with long and acute lateral extensions. Length of idiosoma 284 (284-288), width 104 (104-109), length of hysterosoma 184 (190-192). Prodorsal shield entire, anterolateral extensions short and with acute tips, lateral margins without incisions, posterior margin with wide blunt-angular extension, posterior angles well expressed, length 96 (94-96), width 82 (82-88), surface with ovate lacunae (Fig. 1). Scapular setae se separated by 36 (35-42). Scapular shields narrow. Humeral shields narrow, separated from outer sclerotized areas of epimerites III. Setae cp situated ventrally, setae c2 filiform, situated dorsally, both pairs on striated tegument. Subhumeral setae c3 lanceolate, 18 (18-20) × 6 (6-8). Hysteronotal shield with anterior margin concave, anterior angles rounded, distance from anterior margin to bases of setae h3 174 (180-186), greatest width in anterior part 74 (72-80), surface with small circular lacunae. Opisthosomal lobes roughly trapezoidal, short, each with angular median expansion on posterior margin, setae h3 situated slightly posterior to setae h2. Terminal cleft V–shaped, 16 (16-20) in length; margins of terminal cleft without membranes. Supranal concavity clearly outlined, triangular. Setae f2 slightly posterior to bases of setae ps2. Setae h1 near lateral margins of opisthosoma. Setae ps1 filiform, length 6 (5-8), situated near lateral margins of opisthosomal lobes, anterior to bases of setae h3. Setae c1 present, setae h3 flattened and enlarged in basal part, shorter than h2. Dorsal measurements: c2-d2 68 (64-68), d2-e2 70 (72-78), e2-h3 42 (40-46), d1-d2 33 (31-34), e1-e2 24 (20-26), h1-ps2 10 (7-11), h2-h2 36 (34-36), h3-h3 20 (20-22), ps2-ps2 44 (46-48).

Epimerites I fused into a V, posterior end connected with epimerites II by transverse sclerotized bands. Epimerites II long, with posterior ends free. Coxal field I closed, coxal field II open, coxal fields III almost closed, coxal fields IV with narrow sclerotized areas at bases of trochanters IV. Epimerites IVa present, well developed, their anterior tips bearing bases of setae 4a (Fig. 2). Genital arch 12 (8-10) long, 18 (14-18) wide, basal sclerite of genital apparatus rounded posteriorly; aedeagus with bilobate tip 64 (64-69) long, extending to level of setae ps3. Genital papillae situated at level of genital arch. A pair of small ovoid sclerites located near tips of genital arch. Two pairs of adanal shields (median and anterolateral) represented by small triangular plates, setae ps3 situated on median pairs. Anal suckers 12 (11-12) in diameter, corolla indented, with 8 small teeth. Ventral measurements: 3 a– 4b 20 (18-22), 4 b– 4a 30 (28-30), 4 a–g 30 (27-32), g–ps 3 36 (37-40), ps3-ps3 17 (16-18), ps3-h3 36 (36-40).

Legs I longer than legs II, femora I and II with ventral crest (Fig. 3A, B). Seta e of tarsus I filiform. Setae mGII thickened basally, with filiform apex, setae d of tarsi II, III much shorter than corresponding setae f. Tarsus IV 23 (22-24) long, with apical claw-like process, setae d, e button-like, seta d bigger in diameter than e, situated in basal and apical parts of segment, respectively (Fig. 3D). Length of solenidia: ω 1I 10 (10-14), ω 1II 9 (8-10), φI 56 (54-60), φII 46 (42-44), φIII 25 (22-26), φIV 22 (18-20).

FEMALE (Figs 4; 5; 6 A–E; range for 6 paratypes): Pseudorutellar lobes with long and acute lateral extensions as in males. Length of idiosoma 392-396, width 125-132, and length of hysterosoma 270-280. Prodorsal shield entire, anterolateral extensions with rounded tips, lateral margins without deep incisions, posterior margin almost straight, length 117-121, width 107-110, surface with small circular lacunae in an terior part and bigger ovate and circular lacunae in posterior part (Fig. 4). Scapular setae se separated by 43-46. Scapular shields narrow. Humeral shields narrow, separated from epimerites III. Setae c2 filiform, situated dorsally on striated tegument. Subhumeral setae c3 lanceolate, 18-22 × 6-8. Anterior hysteronotal shield roughly rectangular, anterior and posterior margins concave, greatest length 189-190, greatest width in anterior part 99-101, surface with sparsely disposed circular lacunae. Length of lobar region 74-79, width at level of setae h2 63- 65. Terminal cleft parallel-sided, narrow, with almost touching margins posterior to level of setae ps1, length 45-52. Supranal concavity well developed, ovoid. Setae h1 on lobar shield, at midlevel of supranal concavity; surface of lobar shield without ornamentation. Setae h2 spindle-shaped, with terminal filament, 73-81 × 6-8. Setae ps1 closer to inner margin of opisthosomal lobes, setae h3 17-18 long, about 1/3 from the length of terminal appendages. Dorsal measurements: c2-d2 83-84, d2-e2 99-105, e2-h2 44-47, h2-h3 32-35, d1-d2 34-47, e1-e2 40-42, h1-h2 28-32, h2-ps1 26-30, h1-h1 29-31, h2-h2 49-51.

Epimerites I fused as a V, with short lateral extensions. Coxal fields I, II with small sclerotized areas, epimerites IVa absent (Fig. 5). Translobar apodemes of opisthosomal lobes present, fused to each other anterior to terminal cleft. Epigynum horseshoe-shaped, greatest width 49-53. Secondary spermaducts short, about 10 long (Fig. 6E). Distance between pseudanal setae: ps2-ps2 20-23, ps3-ps3 16-18, ps2-ps3 16-20.

Legs I slightly longer than legs II; femora I, II with wide ventral crest; setae mGII thickened basally, with filiform apex. Length of solenidia: ω 1I 9-11, ω 1II 6-9, φI 59-67, φII 46-48, φIII 30-35, φIV 5-7 (Fig. 6 A–D).

Etymology.

This species is named in honor of Oana Mirela Chachula (a biologist, the National Museum of Romanian History, Romania), for her support of our research of ectoparasites of birds from Meghalaya (India).

Remarks.

Proterothrix chachulae sp. n. belongs to the wolffi species group by having almost closed coxal fields III in males and parallel-sided terminal cleft in females. Males of the new species differ from all known males of the genus by having the aedeagus with bilobate tip. Among all species of the genus, Proterothrix chachulae is closely related to Proterothrix cyornis Mironov and Tolstenkov, 2013 from Cyornis tickelliae Blyth ( Passeriformes : Muscicapidae ) by having the pseudorutelar lobes with acute lateral extensions in both sexes. Males of both species have the opisthosomal lobes roughly trapezoidal and short, setae h3 flattened and enlarged in basal part, a similar general proportions of aedeagus and epimerites IVa well developed, their anterior tips bearing bases of setae 4a. Proterothrix chachulae differs from that species by the following features: in males, the prodorsal shield has posterior margin with wide blunt-angular extension, the opisthosomal lobes have angular median expansion on posterior margin, a pair of small ovoid shields is located at the tips of the genital arch, seta d is bigger in diameter then e on tarsus IV; in females, the prodorsal shield bears in anterior part a few small circular lacunae, the lobar shield is without ornamentation, and the setae h3 have about 1/3 from the length of terminal appendages. In males of Proterothrix cyornis , the prodorsal shield has posterior margin slightly convex, the opisthosomal lobes have posterior margin with a small median invagination, small sclerites near the tips of genital arch are absent, seta d and e on tarsus IV are subequal in diameter; in females, the prodorsal shield bears big ovate lacunae in anterior part, the lobar shield bears few circular lacunae in anterior part, and the setae h3 have about 1/5 from the length of terminal appendages.

DNA barcode.

Representative DNA sequences. GenBank accession numbers for molecular voucher: ANA747 P2 male KY594726; ANA748 P1 male KY594724; ANA749 P1 female KY594725.

We sequenced a 660-pb fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for two male and one female paratypes. In the resulted alignment we identified 8 variable sites. Two haplotypes were identified: H1 (ANA_748_P1_M and ANA_749_P1_F) and H2 (ANA_747_P2_M).

Intraspecific genetic distance between the analyzed specimens using K2P model is 0.8% (SE 0.3). All observed nucleotide substitutions were synonymous and did not change the amino acid sequence.

This reported genetic distance in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA barcode is comparable with genetic distances found for other Analgoidea species like Proctophyllodes cetti (0.87%) ( Badek et al. 2008).