Notallus phlomicosae Lotfollahi & Bahirai, 2019

Bahirai, Fereshteh, Jafari, Shahriar, Lotfollahi, Parisa & Shakarami, Jahanshir, 2019, A new species of Notallus (Acari: Eriophyidae) on Lamiaceae from Iran, Persian Journal of Acarology 8 (2), pp. 117-124 : 118-121

Notallus phlomicosae Lotfollahi & Bahirai sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Description

Female (measured specimens n = 8)

Body fusiform, 211* (175–229, excluding gnathosoma), 52 (51–57) thick, 41 (no range available) wide. Gnathosoma projecting obliquely downwards, chelicerae 28 (26–34), palp 25 (25–

38), palp coxal setae ep 2.5 (2.5–5), dorsal palp genual setae d 6 (5–6), unbranched. Prodorsal shield 50* (44–55) including frontal lobe, 39 (no range available) wide, sub-rhomboidal; broad-based and distally acuminate frontal lobe, 13* (10–15), over gnathosomal base. Shield pattern distinct, consisting of a short median line on posterior ⅓ of prodorsal shield, admedian lines extended on more than posterior ⅔ of prodorsal shield, connected to median line by a pair of transverse lines one at near the posterior margin and one at the anterior end of median line; one short transverse line extended from admedian lines toward lateral sides; short submedian lines on lateral sides of the prodorsal shield connected to one transverse line on their outside; two distinct close chambers delimited between lines. Tubercles of scapular setae sc on rear shield margin, 21 (no range available) apart, setae sc 50 (35– 52), apex truncate with slight knob, directed backward, divergently. Legs with all usual segments and setae. Leg I 29 (27–31), femur 9 (7.5–9.5), genu 4 (4–6.5), tibia 5 (4–6), tarsus 6 (6–7), tarsal solenidion ω10 (9–10) distally a few enlarged and rounded, empodium simple, 6 (5–6), 4-rayed; femoral setae bv 13 (11–14), genual setae l" 21 (20–21), paraxial tibial setae l' 6 (5–6), located in basal third of tibia, paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ft ' 18 (15–18), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae ft" 22 (18–22), paraxial unguinal tarsal setae u' 3 (3–5). Leg II 26 (25–31), femur 8 (6–9.5), genu 4 (4–5), tibia 4 (3.5–5.5), tarsus 6 (5–7), tarsal solenidion ω 10 (9–11) distally rounded, empodium simple, 6 (5–6), 4-rayed; femoral setae bv 14 (13–17), genual setae l" 9 (7–9), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ft' 4.5 (4–5), antaxial fastigial ft " 22 (20–22), paraxial unguinal tarsal setae u' 3 (3–4.5). Coxisternal region – Prosternal apodeme 6 (no range available), anterior setae on coxisternum I 1b 10 (9–10), 8 (8–9) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum I 1a 28 (23–32), 6 (6–7) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum II 2a 48 (35–48), 17 (15–17) apart; 3 (3–4) microtuberculate semiannuli between coxae and genital coverflap plus three broken transversal rows of lined granules at the base of the coverflap. Coxae with sparse dashes and dots. External genitalia 10 (no range available), 18 (no range available) wide, coverflap with 10 (no range available) longitudinal striae; setae 3a 22 (18–22). Opisthosoma with 32 (27–33) dorsal semiannuli provided with three dorsal ridges; median ridge from third dorsal semiannulus extended up to 29 (22–30) semiannulus, lateral ridges from first dorsal semiannulus extended up to 21 (15–22) semiannulus; 65 (53–66) narrow ventral semiannuli. Microtubercles – No microtubercles visible on the dorsal semiannuli except on central part and lateral ridges of two first dorsal semiannuli with circular microtubercles and lateral ridges of third with faint elliptical microtubercles; circular, on posterior margin of ventral semiannuli; spiny on the rear margin of the last four dorsal semiannuli and elongated and linear on last 5 (5–6) ventral semiannuli. Setae c2 19 (15–21) on ventral semiannulus 12 (9–12), setae d 52 (41–52) on ventral semiannulus 24 (19–24); setae e 17 (13–17) on ventral semiannulus 40 (31–40); setae f 20 (18–21) on ventral semiannulus 60 (47–60); 5 (5–6) annuli posterior to setae f. Setae h2 54 (39–58) apically very fine, h1 3.5 (2.5–3.5).

Male (measured specimens n = 1) – Similar in shape and prodorsal shield arrangement to female. Body smaller than female, 177, 45 thick; palp genual setae d 5; prodorsal shield 48; setae sc 29, 19 apart. Opisthosoma with 27 dorsal semiannuli and 60 ventral semiannuli; 4 semiannuli between coxae and genitalia, with microtubercles similar to that of female. Setae: 1b 12, 1a 20, 2a 31, c2 21, d 64, e 16, f 32, h1 2.5, h2 47. Male genitalia 14 wide, setae 3a 17, 11 apart.

Type host plant Phlomis fruticosa L. ( Lamiaceae ), Jerusalem Sage.

Type locality

Faculty of Agriculture campus, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Lorestan, Iran (33° 25' 45.2'' N, 48° 15' 34.5'' E), 1150 m above sea level, coll. F. Bahirai, 30 August 2018 .

Type material Holotype female circled with black ink among two females and one male mounted on one slide

(PF-IL-KD18B-1). Further paratypes: two females mounted on one slide (PF-IL-KD18B-2) and four females mounted singly on separate microscope slides (PF-IL-KD18B-3-6).

Relation to the host plant Vagrant; no apparent damage was observed.

Etymology

The specific epithet is in genitive case and comes from the combination of the genus Phlomi - and the end of the species name - cosae of the type host plant.

Differential diagnosis

Notallus phlomicosae sp. nov. is morphologically distinct from the other Notallus species worldwide ( Table 1). The prodorsal shield of the new species has a reticulated pattern ( Fig. 1 - AD). On the contrary, the prodorsal shield of N. pterocaryae is smooth ( Fig. 2-a ). That of N. nerii is almost obscure with stronger admedian lines converging at rear shield center and submedian lines converging from dorsal tubercles ( Fig. 2-b ). Finally, that of N. pestehae is composed of a faint short median line on posterior ¼ of prodorsal shield, complete admedian lines close together in the middle of the prodorsal shield, and short submedian lines on posterior ⅔ of the prodorsal shield, connected to admedian lines with a pair of transverse lines ( Fig. 2c ). However, few similarities of the new species with N. pestehae have been found in the beginning of the lateral ridges from the first dorsal semiannulus, empodium four rayed and the length of setae d, e and f. Lateral ridges in N. nerii and N. pterocaryae begin from the forth dorsal semiannulus. The median ridge of N. nerii , N. pterocaryae and N. pestehae begins from the forth dorsal semiannulus whereas it begins from the third dorsal semiannulus in N. phlomicosae sp. nov.

Remarks This is the first record of a Notallus species on plants of the family Lamiaceae .

opisthosoma. Scale bar: 10 µm for AD, ADL, CG, GM, IG, pg, PM; 5 µm for LO, L1; 2.5 µm for em.

Figures

Figure 1. Schematic drawings of Notallus phlomicosae sp. nov. – AD = Prodorsal shield; ADL = Dorso-lateral view of female anterior body region; CG = Female coxigenital region; em = Empodium; GM = Male genital region; IG = Internal female genitalia; LO = Lateral view of annuli; L1. Leg I; pg = palp genua; PM = Lateral view of posterior

Figure 2. Schematic drawings of the prodorsal shield of Notallus species – a. Notallus pterocaryae Kuang & Luo, 2005 (redrawn from Kuang and Luo 2005); b. Notallus nerii Keifer, 1975 (redrawn from Keifer 1975); c. Notallus pestehae Lotfollahi, de Lillo & Haddad, 2014 (from Lotfollahi et al. 2014).