Atractides panesari, Pesic, Vladimir & Reddy, Yenumula Ranga, 2009

Pesic, Vladimir & Reddy, Yenumula Ranga, 2009, New records of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from interstitial freshwaters of India, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 2158, pp. 20-32 : 23-25

Atractides panesari sp. nov.

( Fig. 1A–E )

Material examined. Holotype: female, dissected and slide-mounted in Hoyer's fluid. India, Uttarakhand State, Mandakini River (a tributary of the Alaknanda River) at Syalsoud, 30°25'60" N, 79°04'16" E, 866 m asl., hyporheic zone (water temperature 12 o C; pH 8.8), 5 November 2007.

Diagnosis (only based on female, male unknown). Dorsally, the integument is striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized; P-4 sword seta halfway between ventral setae; Ac in an obtuse triangle. S-1 and S- 2 heteromorphic and distanced, S-1 long, distally thickened and with a truncated tip, S-2 shortened, enlarged, with a pointed tip; I-Leg-5 dL/vL 165/80 µm, I-Leg-6 L 165 µm.

Description

Female: idiosoma L/W 466/369. Dorsally, the integument is striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field ( Fig. 1A ): L 275; Cx-3 W 320; Cx-1+2 mL 92; lL Cx-1+2 183. Palp ( Fig. 1C ): total L 268, L and %L (in parentheses): P-1 26 (9.7), P-2 56 (20.9), P-3 68 (25.4), P-4 88 (32.8), P-5 30 (11.2); L ratio P-2/P-4 0.64; P-2 ventral margin weakly convex; P-3 ventrally straight, P-4 sword seta halfway between ventral setae. Genital field ( Fig. 1B ): Ac in an obtuse triangle, L/W 123/115, individual genital plate L 91, L Ac-1–3: 31-33- 35. Excretory pore: smooth; Vgl-1 not fused to Vgl-2.

I-Leg ( Figs. 1 D-E): I-Leg-5 ventral margin slightly expanding near the insertion of the ventral seta, dorsal and ventral margin between the narrow base of the segment and the ventral seta slightly diverging, more strongly diverging between this seta and the insertion S-1; S-1 and S-2 heteromorphic and distanced, S-1 long, slightly bent inwards, distally thickened and with a truncated tip, S-2 shortened, enlarged, with a pointed tip; I-Leg-6 long and slender, only slightly narrowed from the base to the tip; I-Leg-5 dL 165, vL 80, dL/vL 2.06, HB 55, dL/HB 3.0, S-1 L 138, L/W 12.1, S-2 L 88, L/W 6.8, distance of sword setae of I-Leg-5 46, L S-1/2 1.6; I-Leg-6 L 156, HB 14, L/HB 11.5; L I-Leg-5/6 1.06.

Male: unknown.

Discussion. Due to the striated integument, the distant position of S-1 and S-2 on I-Leg-5 and the particular shape of S-1 (distally enlarged and with a truncated tip), Atractides panesari sp. nov. is most similar to A. distans ( K. Viets, 1914) , known from the western Palaearctic. A. distans (in parentheses data taken from Gerecke 2003) differs from A. panesari sp. nov. in the larger dimensions of I-Leg (I-Leg-5 dL/vL> 190 /> 120 µm, I-Leg-6 L> 184 µm), S-1 and -2 being more slender (L/W S-1> 15.0, S-2> 9.0), the palp distinctly longer (total L> 330 µm), P-4 sword seta on the level of distoventral hair, and Ac in a slightly curved line.

Three Atractides distans -like species described from Siberia ( Sokolow 1934), viz. Atractides gassowskii , A. gracilis and A. odarkensis , all differ from A. panesari sp. nov., in longer and much more slender palps, a more slender I-Leg-5, and S-1 more slender and not enlarged and truncated distally.

Jin (1997) described Atractides gracilis from a single female specimen from Guangxi ( China). However, this name is preoccupied by Atractides gracilis ( Sokolow, 1934) . For this reason, we propose a new name, Atractides jini nomen novum. This species can be distinguished from A. panesari sp. nov. by a more slender I-Leg-5, relatively shorter I-Leg-6, S-1 not enlarged and truncated distally and Ac arranged in a slightly curved line.

Etymology. Named after Dr Arne Panesar ( Germany) in appreciation of his studies on Himalayan water mites.

Habitat. The single specimen was taken in interstitial water.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Uttarakhand State.

Figures

FIGURE 1 A – E. Atractides panesari sp. nov., female: A = right coxae; B = genital field; C = right palp, lateral view; D = left I-Leg- 5 and - 6; E = right I-Leg- 5 and - 6. Scale bars = 100 µm.