Atractides (Atractides) cf. panesari Pešić & Ranga Reddy, 2009

PešićK, Vladimir, SmitK, Harry & GurungK, Mer Man, 2023, Five new species of water mite genus Atractides Koch, 1837 from Bhutan with new records (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Hygrobatidae), Acarologia 63 (1), pp. 148-168 : 152

Atractides (Atractides) cf. panesari Pešić & Ranga Reddy, 2009

Figure 3

Material examined — Bhutan, MG 9 Kartigang Chhu, 27.27896°N, 90.63088°E, 1456 m

asl, 1 Nov. 2021, 1♀, dissected and slide mounted ( RMNH).

Morphology — Female – Integument striated, muscle insertions unsclerotized. Posterior margin of Cx-I+II broad, apodemes of Cx-II forming an acute angle with the median line. Excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 not fused to Vgl-2. Genital field with acetabula in a curved line ( Figure 3B). P-2 ventral margin straight, ventral margin P-3 slightly concave, P-4 sword seta between ventral setae ( Figure 3C). I-L-5 with S-1/-2 strongly heteromorphic and separated, S-1 long, slightly bent inwards, distally truncate, S-2 shortened, enlarged, with a blunt tip; I-L-6 long and slender, distally slightly narrowed ( Figure 3D).

Measurements — Idiosoma L 540; maximum diameter Dgl-4, 23. Coxal shield L 281; Cx-III W 334; Cx-I+II mL 116, Cx-I+II lL 197. Genital field L/W 133/123, genital plates L 81, pregenital sclerite 81, gonopore L 113, L Ac-1-3: 32-34, 31, 28. Egg maximum diameter (n =

2) 100-103.

Palp – dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, -/-, -; P-2, 61/42, 1.46; P-3, 72/36, 2.0; P-4, 84/27, 3.06; P-5, 34/11, 3.16; L ratio P-2/P-4, 0.73.

Legs – I-L-5 dL 167, vL 92, dL/vL ratio 1.82, maximum H 63, dL/maximum H 2.64, S-1 L 124, L/W ratio 11.64, S-2 L 82, L/W ratio 5.26, distance S-1-2, 37, dL ratio S-1/2 1.50; I-L-6

dL 159, central H 16, dL/central H ratio 10.2; L I-L-5/6 ratio 1.05.

Remarks — The examined female from Bhutan matches the description of Atractides panesari Pešić & Ranga Reddy, 2009 , a species originally described on the basis of a single female collected from hyporheic waters of a stream in Uttarakhand State of India ( Pešić and Ranga Reddy 2009). The specimen from India (in parentheses data taken from Pešić and Ranga Reddy 2009) differs in comparatively longer S-1 (138 µm) and a larger S-1-2 distance (46 µm).

Distribution — India (Uttarakhand), Bhutan.