Atractides (Atractides) manasi, Pešić & Smit, 2018

Pešić, Vladimir & Smit, Harry, 2018, A checklist of the water mites of Central Asia with description of six new species (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Kyrgyzstan, Acarologia 58 (1), pp. 165-185 : 175

Atractides (Atractides) manasi n. sp. ( Figure 4 )

Zoobank: DA72B28F-BBD4-4EDC-B2B6-B4071B868FFB

Type material — Holotype female ( RMNH), Kyrgyzstan, KR22 Karakal region , stream, 42°44.342’N, 78°53.681’E, 1917 m asl., 13.vii.2013, leg. Pešić & Smit, dissected and slide mounted.

Diagnosis — Female (Male unknown). Integument striated; muscle insertions unsclerotized (visible only as granulated areas); excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 not fused to Vgl-2; acetabula in a triangular position; P-2 with a pointed ventrodistal protrusion; I-L-5/-6 slightly modified with short and bluntly pointed S-1/-2.

Description — Female. Integument dorsally striated, muscle insertions unsclerotized, glandularia small, round (maximum diameter Dgl 22 µm). Coxal field slender and longish, mediocaudal margin of Cx-I tongue-shaped ( Figure 4B ). Genital field: gonopore very long, genital plates short and stout flanking the postgenital sclerite, directed laterally, acetabula in triangular position ( Figure 4C ). Excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 not fused to Vgl-2. P-2 ventral margin straight, ending in a pointed ventrodistal protrusion, ventral margin of P-3 straight, P-4 slender, insertions of ventral setae flanked by denticles, sword seta fine on the level of distoventral seta ( Figures 4 E-F). I-L-5 with S-1/-2 slender, with knob-shaped tip, and close to each other; I-L-6 nearly straight, with strong claw ( Figure 4D ).

Measurements — Idiosoma L 475, W 278; coxal field: L 251; Cx-III W 238; Cx-I+II mL 84, lL 158; genital field L/W 131/116, genital plates L 63, pregenital sclerite W 56, maximum diameter Ac 1-3: 25, 29, 27.

Gnathosoma — palp total L 286; dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 25/22, 1.14; P-2, 64/42, 1.52; P-3, 72/36, 2.0; P-4, 93/20, 4.58; P-5, 32/11, 2.9; L ratio P-2/P-4 0.69. Gnathosomal base vL 75; chelicera total L 163.

Legs — I-L-5 dL 109, vL 83, dL/vL ratio 1.3, maximum H 26, dL/maximum H 4.27, S-1 L 51, L/W ratio 10.8, S-2 L 44, L/W ratio 7.0, distance S-1-2, 3.0, L ratio S-1/2 1.16; I-L-6 L 92, central H 18, L/central H ratio 5.1; L ratio I-L-5/6, 1.19.

Discussion — The new species resembles the hyporheobiontic Atractides pygmaeus (Motaş & Tanasachi, 1948) in many points of view: small dimensions (idiosoma L <500 μm), unsclerotized excretory pore, slightly modified I-L-5/-6 with short and bluntly pointed S- 1/-2 and the presence of well pronounced denticles accompanying the ventral setae of P-4. Atractides pygmaeus differs in having sclerotized muscle attachments, and fused Vgl-1/2, P-2 forming an acute distoventral angle, without projection and acetabula arranged in a weakly curved line (see Gerecke et al. 2016). These clear cut differences, together with the fact that in the male no particular sexual dimorphism is to be expected, justifies the description of the new species based on a single female specimen only.

Etymology — Named after Manas, the heroic warrior featured in one of the longest epic poems in the history of the world “The Epic of Manas” (Kyrgyz: Манас дастаны).

Distribution — Kyrgyzstan; known only from the locus typicus ( Figure 10F ).

Figures

Figure 4 Atractides manasi n. sp., female holotype: A – idiosoma, dorsal view; B – idiosoma, ventral view; C – genital field; D – I-L-5 and -6; E – palp, medial view; F – palp, lateral view. Scale bars = 100 μm.

Figure 10 Photographs of sampling sites: A – KR3, Ala Archa NP, spring outlet (locus typicusof Atractides alaarchaensis n. sp.); B – KR32, stream near Son Kul lake (locus typicusof Atractides sonkulensisn. sp.); C – KR10, spring in Grigorievka canyon (locus typicusof Atractides grigorievkan. sp.); D – KR8, Chon-Kemin NP, upper part of stream near Ashu resort (locus typicusof Torrenticola kyrgyzican. sp.); E – KR15, river on the road to May Saz Pass (locus typicusof Wandesia albertii n. sp.); F – KR22, stream in Karakal region (locus typicusof Atractides manasi n. sp.); G – KR23, rheohelocrenic spring in Karakal region (sampling site of Atractides grigorievkan. sp.); H – KR31, river near Son Kol Lake (sampling site of Atractides sonkulensisn. sp.).