Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) sabelisi, Ferla, Noeli Juarez, Silva, Guilherme Liberato Da & Nascimento, Joseane Moreira Do, 2012

Ferla, Noeli Juarez, Silva, Guilherme Liberato Da & Nascimento, Joseane Moreira Do, 2012, Description of a new species of Typhlodromus Scheuten (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from house dust from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Zootaxa 3507, pp. 84-88 : 85-87

Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) sabelisi n. sp.

( Figs 1–6 )

Type material. Holotype female, Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul, from dust curtain in a wooden home surrounded by natural vegetation at Encantado, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 18 May 2010, coll. J. Nascimento. Paratypes: one female, one male, same data as holotype; two females, same data as holotype except 24 October 2010. All specimens are deposited at Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba-SP, Brazil.

ADULT FEMALE (n = 4). When alive, yellowish in colour; idiosomal setal pattern from Chant & Yoshida- Shaul (1992): 12A:8B/JV: ZV.

Dorsum ( Fig. 1 ). Dorsal shield mostly reticulate, 373 (363–383) long, 188 (178–200) wide; apparently with five pairs of lyrifissures; seta j1 28 (25–30), j3 35 (30–38), j4 21 (20–23), j5 23 (18–25), j6 24 (23–25), J2 28 (23–30), J5 8, z2 23 (18–25), z3 31 (25–35), z4 30 (25–35), z5 21 (18–23), Z4 48 (43–53), Z5 58 (58–60), s4 34 (30–38), s6 36 (35–38), S2 40 (35–43), S4 43 (38–45), S5 23 (18–25), r3 33 (30–35), R1 31 (28–35). Setae setiform and smooth. Setae r3 and R1 on interscutal membrane. Peritreme extending forward to level of j3.

Venter ( Fig. 2 ). Sternal shield smooth, with few anterolateral striae, two pairs of setae, St1 and St2, and two pairs of lyrifissures; third pair of sternal setae St3 on separate platelets; distances between St1-St3 75, St2-St2 63 (62–65). Genital shield with a few medial striae anterior to setae St5; distance between St5-St5 69 (65–73). Ventrianal shield smooth; nearly pentagonal, with lateral margins slightly convex, 117 (115–120) long, 105 (100–110) wide at level of ZV2 and 83 (80–88) at level of anus; with three pairs of preanal setae. Opisthogastric cuticle with two pairs of slender metapodal shields.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 3 ). Calyx bell-shaped, 18 long and 11 in diameter at junction with vesicle. Cervix nodular.

Legs ( Fig. 4 ). No macrosetae on legs I, II and III. Macrosetae of leg IV setaceous, smooth, of the following lengths: Sg IV 34 (30–38), Sti IV 33 (30–35), St IV 54 (50–58). Chaetotaxy of genu II 2 2/0, 2/0 1; genu III 1 2/1, 2/0 1.

Chelicera ( Fig. 5 ). Fixed digit 41 (35–50) long, with three teeth, all distal to pilus dentilis; movable digit 38 (33–45) long, with one subapical tooth.

ADULT MALE. (n=1). Colour in life, as in female. Idiosomal setal pattern: 12A:8B/JV:ZV.

Dorsum. Dorsal shield mostly reticulate, 300 long, 170 wide, apparently with five pairs of lyrifissures; seta j1 20, j3 30, j4 15, j5 20, j6 20, J2 18, J5 broken, z2 20, z3 15, z4 20, z5 15, Z4 40, Z5 48, s4 25, s6 28, S2 30, S4 25, S5 15, r3 20, R1 18. All setae setiform and smooth. Setae r3 and R1 on dorsal shield. Peritreme extending forward to level of j3.

Venter ( Fig. 6 ). Distance between setae St1-St5 123.Ventrianal shield sub triangular, with slight reticulation, 120 long, 155 wide at anterior corners, with four pairs of preanal setae.

Chelicera. Fixed digit 24 long, with three teeth; movable digit 22 long, with one tooth. Spermatodactyl 30 long.

Leg. No macrosetae on legs I, II and III. Macrosetae of leg IV setaceous, lengths: Sg IV 25, Sti IV 25, St IV 40. Chaetotaxy as in female.

Etymology. The new species is named after Maurice W. Sabelis, eminent acarologist of the Netherlands.

Notes. This new species differs from Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) wonkooi Ryu & Ehara, 1992 by having St3 on separate platelets, and most dorsal shield setae as well as macrosetae of genu, tibia and basitarsus IV longer. T. (A.) wonkooi further differs from the new species by having four teeth on the fixed digit, and the ventrianal shield reticulate and with a constriction at level of JV2. The cervix of the spermatheca in the new species is nodular is shape but in T. woonkoi it is not. The new species differs from T. (A.) aestivalis Athias-Henriot, 1960 by having macrosetae on leg IV not knobbed, setae on the dorsal shield longer, and the spermatheca not conic in shape. It differs from T. (A.) foenilis Oudemans, 1930 by having dorsal setae longer, especially Z4 and Z5, spermatheca not campaniform and dorsal shield reticulated throughout. It differs from T. (A.) shibai Ehara, 1981 by having Z5 longer and not serrated, the fixed digit with three teeth, macrosetae on basitarsus IV longer and not knobbed, and pores absent on the metasternal platelets, the region j1-j4 highly reticulated, spermatheca without a slender and subcylindrical cervix, and without lyrifissures on the interscutal membrane in the ventrianal shield region. In the electronic polytomous key to species of the sub-genus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) ( Hernandes et al., 2012) of the world, T. (A.) sabelisi resembles Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) evectus (Schuster, 1966) , but differs by having setae j3, S4, r3 and macrosetae of basitarsus IV longer, Z4 and Z5 not serrated, dorsal shield quite reticulated, metasternal platelets present, ventrianal shield without pores, and peritreme extending until j3 level.

Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) sabelisi was collected on house dust on curtains, together with high populations of Blomia tropicalis (Bronswijck et al., 1973) (Echimyopodidae) and Tarsonemus sp. ( Tarsonemidae ). Blomia tropicalis is an important source of allergens in the tropics and subtropics, and Tarsonemus is a house dust fungalfeeder ( Colloff, 2009). The presence of this predator in this hostile habitat may be associated with it feeding on B. tropicalis and Tarsonemus sp. This is the first record of Phytoseiidae associated with house dust ( Colloff, 2009), and phytoseiids are most commonly found on plants ( Moraes et al., 2004). Near the windows where T. sabelisi was collected there is a native forest from which the specimens must have originated. We searched nearby plants and did not find any specimens.During the collecting period, shrubs and flowers were not kept inside the house.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) sabelisi n. sp. 1. Female, dorsal shield; 2. Female, ventral idiosoma; 3. Female, spermatheca; 5. Female, chelicera; 6. male, ventrianal shield.