Torrenticola ramini Bader, 1988

Pešić, Vladimir, Zawal, Andrzej, Saboori, Alireza, Bańkowska, Aleksandra, Cakmak, Ibrahim & Smit, Harry, 2023, New records of water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Iran and Türkiye based on morphology and DNA barcodes with description of one new species, Ecologica Montenegrina 66, pp. 11-29 : 18

Torrenticola ramini Bader, 1988

Fig. 1

Material examined — IRAN, Golestan Province, IR6-2022 Agh Sou , stream, 37.3706° N, 55.9896° E 31.viii.2022 leg. Pešić 1♀ (sequenced; HYDIR058-23 ), dissected and slide mounted ( RMNH) .

Remarks — The specimen from northeastern Iran molecularly analyzed in this study matches the description of T. ramini Bader, 1988 , a species originally described on the basis of specimens collected from a stream in Warabon in Northern Iran ( Bader 1988). The Iranian specimen forms a unique BIN (BOLD:AFF4076), with the nearest neighboring BIN being BOLD:ACI0619, which includes specimens of T. ischnophallus Lundblad, 1956 from Germany. The level of COI differentiation between T. ramini and T. ischnophallus was estimated at 11.23% p -distance and is comparable with the observed interspecific variability between other congeneric species pairs (see e.g., Fisher et al. 2017).

Morphology. Female — Shoulder platelets fused to dorsal plate, but suture line visible ( Fig. 1A ); gnathosomal bay U-shaped; Cxgl–4 subapical; genital field pentagonal in shape; excretory pore and Vgl-2 away from the line of primary sclerotization, excretory pore slightly anterior to Vgl-2 ( Fig. 1B ); gnathosoma with a curved ventral margin ( Fig. 1D ); P-2 and P-3 with a narrow ventrodistal projection, P-2 longer than P- 4, P-4 with a well-developed ventral tubercle, bearing one longer and three shorter setae ( Fig. 1C ).

Measurements — Idiosoma L 752, W 556; dorsal shield L 638, W 481, L/W ratio 1.33; dorsal plate L 600; frontal plate L 144-147, W 56-59, L/W ratio 2.5-2.6. Gnathosomal bay L 178, Cx-I total L 294, Cx-I mL 115, Cx-II+III mL 20; ratio Cx-I L/Cx-II+III mL 14.7; Cx-I mL/Cx-II+III mL 5.75. Genital field L/W 159/150, ratio 1.06; distance genital field-excretory pore 181, genital field-caudal idiosoma margin 275. Gnathosoma vL 322, chelicera L 399; palp total 330, dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 39/34, 1.15; P-2, 111/53, 2.1; P- 3, 59/48, 1.23; P-4, 102/32, 3.21; P-5, 19/16, 1.21; L ratio P-2/P-4 1.1. dL of I-L-3-6: 78, 98, 105, 98; I-L-6 H 61; dL/H I-L-6 ratio 1.6.

Distribution — Iran ( Bader 1988, this study).

Figures

Figure 1. Torrenticola ramini Bader, 1988, ♀ [CCDB_39399_E10], Agh Sou, Iran. A – dorsal shield; B – ventral shield; C – palp, medial view (P-1 lacking); D – gnathosoma and chelicera. Scale bars = 100 μm.