Atractides (Atractides) elburzensis, Pešić & Smit & Saboori, 2014

Pešić, Vladimir, Smit, Harry & Saboori, Alireza, 2014, Checklist of the water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) of Iran: Second supplement and description of one new species, Ecologica Montenegrina 1 (1), pp. 30-48 : 38-40

Atractides (Atractides) elburzensis n. sp.

( Fig. 2 A-D)

Type series. Holotype male, dissected and slide mounted, Iran, Mazandaran Province, Nowshahr, Kheirud Kenar forest, stream Kheirud , 36º31.629' N, 51º38.755' E, alt. 881 m asl., 11.vii.2011, Pešić, Smit, Saboori.

Diagnosis. Male. Integument dorsally striated, but with a papillate central area; Vgl-3 not fused to Cx- IV; genital field with anterior margin of primary sclerotization almost straight, but secondary sclerotization forming a large semicircular border, posterior margin slightly indented, Ac small (length 20-25µm) in an obtuse triangle; I-L-6 relatively long and weakly curved, narrowed in the centre of the segment.

Description

Male. General features — Integument dorsally striated, but with a papillate central area, muscle insertions unsclerotized dorsally, but all glandularia on extended platelets, Dgl-4 and postoc fused on one side. Genital field: anterior margin of primary sclerotization almost straight, but secondary sclerotization forming a large semicircular border, posterior margin slightly indented, Ac small in an obtuse triangle. Excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1: fused to Vgl-2. Palp: P-2 and P-3 ventral margins straight, without protrusions, P-4 with a little denticle near ventral setae, P-4 sword seta halfway between ventral setae. Legs: I-L-5 with dorsal and ventral margins subparallel basally and centrally, but diverging near the distal edge, S-1 and -2 slender and close to each other; I-L-6 relatively long and weakly curved, narrowed in the centre of the segment.

Measurements – Idiosoma length/width 447/333, glandularia diameter 34; coxal field: length 239; Cx-III width 284; Cx-I+II medial length 94, lateral length 183; genital field length/width 90/104, length Ac 1-3: 21–22, 25, 22–25.

Palp: palp total length 248, dorsal length/height, dorsal length/height ratio: P-1, 25/20, 1.23; P-2, 54/40, 1.35; P-3, 60/31, 1.95; P-4, 83/19, 4.4; P-5, 26/11, 2.4; length ratio P-2/P-4 0.64.

Legs: I-L-5 dorsal length 102, ventral length 79, dorsal length/ventral length ratio 1.3, maximum height 25, dorsal length/maximum height 4.0, S-1 length 45, length/width ratio 8.3, S-2 length 43, length/width ratio 8.0, distance S-1-2 3, L ratio S-1/2 1.03; I-L-6 length 92, central height 19, length/central height ratio 4.8; length ratio I-L-5/6 1.1.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. Named after the mountain (Elburz) where the new species was found.

Discussion. The new species closely resembles to Atractides walteri (K. Viets, 1925) due to the papillate dorsal integument and extended secondary sclerotization (including the glandularia). The latter, a crenobiontic species known from Alps and Carpathians, differs from the male A. elburzensis n. sp. in having larger dimensions of acetabula, diameter> 50 µm, Vgl-3 fused to the caudal margin of Cx-4 and relatively short and curved I-L-6, length ratio I-L-5/6 1.46. Among other species with a smooth excretory pore, fused Vgl-1+2 and enlarged glandularia, Atractides trapeziformis Schwoerbel, 1961 , a hyporheobiontic species from S Germany, is similar in having smaller acetabula and relatively long I-L-6, but clearly differs in the particular shape of genital field, trapeziform with nearly straight, caudally converging lateral margins on the level of Ac-2 and -3 ( Gerecke 2003).

Habitat. Sandy/bouldary stream, shaded by forest ( Fig. 3 ).

Distribution. Northern Iran; known only from the locus typicus.

Figures

Figure 2. Atractides elburzensisn. sp., holotype male, Kheirud stream; A = idiosoma, dorsal view; B = idiosoma, ventral view; C = palp, medial view; D = I-L-5 and -6. Scale bars = 100µm.

Figure 3. Sampling site ofAtractides elburzensisn. sp. (Mazandaran Province, Kheirud Kenar forest, stream Kheirud). Photo. V. Pešić