Atractides markaziensis Pesic

Pesic, Vladimir, Saboori, Alireza, Asadi, Mahdieh & Vafaei, Reza, 2004, Studies on water mites of the family Hygrobatidae (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Iran, I. The water mite genus Atractides Koch, with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 495, pp. 1-40 : 3-7

Atractides markaziensis Pesic sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–9 )

Type material: Holotype: male, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid; Iran: IR53 Markazi Province, Eskan spring 30 km after Shahzand city, ca. 1780 m asl., 21.07.2003, leg. Pesic. Paratypes: 1 males, 4 females, same data as holotype, 1 male and 1 female of these dissected and mounted on Hoyer's fluid.

Other material: IR51 Markazi Province, Bolagh spring, 10 km after Shahzand city (in Shahzand to Pole Doab road), ca. 1780 m asl., 21.07.2003, leg. Pesic (2/3/0); IR54 Markazi Province, Aman Abad spring 12 km SE from Arak (in Arak to Khomein road), 22.07.2003, leg. Pesic (2/3/0); IR28 Isfahan Province, little stream near Rahmat Abad Dam, village Domab (near Alavijeh,on road to Khansar), 31.07.2003, leg. Pesic (1/0/0).

Diagnosis: dorsal integument: finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. I­L­5 elongated, dorsal and ventral margins subparallel, S­1 and S­2 close to each other, I­L­6 relatively short, sausage­shaped. Genital field: Ac in an obtuse triangle, subtriangular in shape; excretory pore: smooth; Vgl­1: not fused to Vgl­2. Palp: strong sexual dimorphism, the sword seta is situated between the ventral hairs, the proximoventral hair of P­4 thicker than the distoventral hair.

Description

Male (measurements of paratypes are given in parentheses): Length of idiosoma 707 (686–743), width 571 (564–593). Dorsally the integument is finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field: length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 410 (373); Cx­3 width 465 (462), Cx­1+2 width 362 (362); Cx­1+2 medial suture 123 (123) in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 280 (279); posterior margin Cx­1 medially straight, apodemes of Cx­2 forming an acute angle. ( Fig. 1 ). Measurements of mouthparts: chelicera 286 in length, claw 86 in length; palp total length 338 (343), dorsal length of single segments: P­

1 34 (36.5), P­2 80 (81), P­3 81 (83), P­4108 (106), P­5 35 (36); relative length (% total length) of single segments: P­110.6 (10.7), P­2 23.7 (23.6), P­3 24.0 (24.2), P­4 32.0 (31.0), P­5 10.4 (10.5); length ratio P­2/P­4 is 0.74 (0.76); palp ( Figs. 4­5 ): ventral margin P­2 with a ventrodistal protrusion, P­3 slightly concave, P­4 strongly stout, the proximoventral hair thicker than distoventral hair, sword seta curved and inserted between ventral hairs. Genital field ( Fig. 2 ): Ac in an obtuse triangle, subtriangular in shape; 134.6 (137.5) in length, 144.2 (144.2) in width, Ac­1­3 length 44.2 (40.4)­43.2 (42.7)­49 (48); excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­2.

I­L ( Fig. 3 ): I­L­5 dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel, S­2 enlarged, I­L­6 short, sausage­shaped (only slightly thickened basally); I­L­3/4/5 forming strongly developed distal sheaths each covering the base of the following segment; I­L­5 dorsal length 210 (221), I­L­5 ventral length 154 (152), ratio dorsal length I­L­5/ventral length 1.36 (1.45), I­L­5 central height 57 (59), ratio dorsal length I­L­5/central height 3.68 (3.74), S­1 length 89 (91), ratio length S­1/width 11.4 (8.9), S­2 length 66.6 (68), ratio length S­2/ width 6.05 (5.3), distance between sword setae of I­L­5 18 (18); ratio length S­1/2 1.34 (1.34); I­L­6 length 128 (130.8), I­L­6 central height 21.8 (22), ratio length I­L­6 /central height 5.9 (5.95); ratio length I­L­5/6 1.63 (1.69)

Female: Length of idiosoma 1071, width 828. Dorsally the integument is finely striated. Coxal field ( Fig. 6 ): length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 454; Cx­3 width 565, Cx­1+2 width 423; Cx­1+2 medial suture 134.6 in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 327. Measurements of mouthparts: chelicera 311 in length, claw 92 in length; palp total length 410.5, dorsal length and relative length (% total length, in parentheses) of single segments: P­1 40 (9.7), P­2 98 (23.9), P­3 111.5 (27.2), P­4 121 (29.5), P­5 40 (9.7); length ratio P­2/ P­4is 0.81; palp ( Fig. 7 ): ventral margin of P­2 with rounded distal protrusion; sword seta of P­4 between ventral hairs. Genital field ( Fig. 8 ): medial margin of genital plates with abrupt concavity on the level of Ac­2; genital field 219 in length, 238.5 in width, individual genital plate 169 in length; Ac­1­3 length 56­63­61; excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­2.

I­L ( Fig. 9 ): I­L­5 dorsal length 271, I­L­5 ventral length 196, ratio dorsal length I­L­5 /ventral length 1.38, I­L­5 central height 68, ratio dorsal length I­L­ 5/central height 4.0, S­ 1 length 101, ratio length S­1/width 9.8, S­2 length 77, ratio length S­2/ width 5.65, distance between sword setae of I­L­5 18; ratio length S­1/2 1.31; I­L­6 length 161.5, I­L­6 central height 24, ratio length I­L­6 /central height 6.73; ratio length I­L­5/6 1.68.

Discussion: The combination of a strong sexual dimorphism in the shape of P­2, unsclerotized excretory pore, unfused Vgl­1/2, relatively short I­L­ 6 in both sexes (L I­L­ 5/6>1.6), setae S­1/2 rather close to each other (distance<20 m), Atractides markaziensis sp. nov. is similar to Atractides pennatus (K.Viets, 1920) , A. fonticolus (K.Viets, 1920) and A. legeri (Motas, 1927) . From the aforementioned species, A. markaziensis sp. nov., is easily distinguished in a densely striated, not lineated integument. As compared with A. pennatus (in parentheses data from Gerecke, 2003), A. markaziensis sp. nov. is characterized by the following characters: S­2 more stout, L/W<6.5 (L/W>7.0), I­L­5 more stout in female, L/HB<4.3 (L/HB>4.3). The most important difference between A. pennatus and A. markaziensis sp. nov., is found in the P­4: in the male of A. pennatus both ventral hair insertions of P­4 are far proximally, while in the male of A. markaziensis sp. nov. the distoventral hair of P­4 is inserted in the distal half of the segment Moreover, the sword seta is located anteriorly from the distoventral hair in A. pennatus , while it is located between the ventral hairs in A. markaziensis sp. nov.

Atractides markaziensis shares the presence of strongly developed sheaths at the distal margins of I­L­3­4­5 with A. legeri and A. pennatus . Moreover, A. markaziensis sp. nov. differs from A. legeri (in parentheses data from Gerecke 2003]) in the more slender and longer I­L­6, L I­L­5/6> 1.7 in both sexes (L I­L­5/6 1.75 in male, 2.4 in female), the tongue­shaped mediocaudal edge of Cx­1+2 (in both sexes mediocaudal margin Cx­1+2 indented or concave in A. legeri ), the male genital field with convex anterior margin (anterior and posterior margins weakly indented in A. legeri ), P­2 without denticulation on the ventral protrusion (P­2 ventrodistally with a longitudinal line separating a medial hump with three fine denticles, from a lateral, smooth elevation), the sword seta of P­4 curved (slender, not curved). Further differences are found in the male P­4, with proximoventral hair of P­4 more thicker (normal in shape and slender in A. legeri and A. fonticolus ) than distoventral in A. markaziensis sp. nov.

Atractides fonticolus is characterized by the following features ( Gerecke 2003): fused Vgl­1/ 2 in males (unfused in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), in males ventrodistal projection of P­2 blunt and with rugose­denticulated surface (strongly protruding and smooth in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), less distanced setae S­1­2,> 15 m (18 m in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), setae S­1/2 shorter, in particular S­2 short and thick, L/W<5.0 (L/W>5.0 in A. markaziensis sp. nov.) and the genital field with Ac more reduced in size, acetabula maximum diametar <40 m (> 40 m in male,> 50 m in female in A. markaziensis ).

Etymology: The species is named for its occurrence in Markazi Province.

Biology: Atractides markaziensis sp. nov. is a crenobiontic species, which inhabits springs at higher elevations.

Distribution: Iran, only known from the Markazi Province.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Atractides markaziensis sp. nov., male: 1 = coxal field; 2 = genital field; 3 = I­L­ 5 / 6; 4 – 5 = palp. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 6 – 9. Atractides markaziensis sp. nov., female: 6 = coxal field; 7 = palp; 8 = genital field; 9 = I­L­ 5 / 6. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.