Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia), Wainstein

Kamran, Muhammad, Mirza, Jawwad Hassan & Alatawi, Fahad Jaber, 2016, The genus Paraplonobia Wainstein and Neopetrobia Wainstein (Acari, Trombidiformes, Tetranychidae) from Saudi Arabia: new species, new records and key to the world species of Paraplonobia, ZooKeys 598, pp. 27-55 : 29

Taxon classification Animalia Prostigmata Tetranychidae

Subgenus Anaplonobia Wainstein

Diagnosis.

Based on Gutierrez 1985, Bolland et al. 1998.

Peritremes anastomosed, coxal setal formula 2 –2–1– 1.

The subgenus Anaplonobia includes 22 species ( Migeon and Flechtmann 2004). The species of the subgenus Anaplonobia can be grouped into two categories: 1) Eight species with dorsal body setae slightly shorter/as long as or longer than distances to the bases of consecutive setae (Tables 1 and 2), second group with dorsal body setae distinctly shorter than distances between their bases, contains 17 species including three new species ( Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) arabica sp. n., Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) haloxylonia sp. n., and Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) tabukensis sp. n.) reported in this study (Table 1, 2).

Shape of setae (spatulate, subspatulate, lanceolate or setiform), comparative length of setae with respect to the distance of setae next behind, shape of peritremes (compact anastomose, branched or weakly anastomosed), propodosomal shield (pebbled, lobbed, with longitudinal/transverse striations), hysterosoma (medially with closely/widely spaced striations), comparative length of leg I with respect to body length (shorter/longer) and leg chaetotaxy are the major diagnostic characters vary among/within the species of subgenus Anaplonobia (Table 1, 2).

Most species of the subgenus Anaplonobia have been reported from USA, Mexico, South Africa and Pakistan and collected mostly from three host plants families Asteraceaea, Fabaceae and Poaceae ( Bolland et al. 1998) (Table 1).

The specimens of new species Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) arabica sp. n., collected from Prosopis juliflora from three different regions (Riyadh, Tabuk, and Jazan) of Saudi Arabia, are morphologically similar except for some variations in setal counts on Tibia II and Tarsus I–II–III. (Table 2). The variations in the setal count of leg I–II–IV (Tibia and Tarsus) in Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) prosopis had been found also in the description made by Tuttle and Baker (1964) from USA and Toroitich and Ueckermann (2009) from Kenya (Table 2). However, in some other species of the subgenus Anaplonobia , setal variations on genua, tibiae and tarsi have been found among the different specimens collected from the same host and location within the same species. i.e. genua I (8-9) in Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) candicans , tibia I (12-13) and tarsus II (12-13) of Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) glebulanta , and tarsus III (12-13) of Paraplonobia (Anaplonobia) theroni (Table 2).