Uroobovella anatolica, Bal, Durmuş Ali, 2006

Bal, Durmuş Ali, 2006, New species of mites in the genera Uropoda, Crinitodiscus and Uroobovella from Turkey (Acari: Mesostigmata: Uropodidae, Urodinychidae), Zootaxa 1368, pp. 19-40 : 32-38

Uroobovella anatolica sp. nov.

Material examined. Holotype Ψ, Bingöl province, Palulu Mountain (38°57’ N, 40°14’ E), 25 May 2004, 1,250 m a.s.l. Paratypes, 3 Ψ, 1 ɗ, same data as holotype. Litter and bark from deciduous tree stump samples were moist.

Female (Holotype). Dorsum ( Fig. 15 ). Idiosoma oval, 570 µm long and 420 µm wide, well sclerotised, brown. Dorsal plate entire, strongly convex, without ornamentation. Plate surrounded by an entire marginal plate. Marginal plate narrow, bearing 12 pairs of setae. Dorsal plate with 40–50 relatively short, simple thorn-like setae, setae not reaching insertion of following setae. Posterior end of dorsum with four knife-like setae, these powerful setae longer and wider than other dorsal setae.

Ven te r ( Fig. 16 ). Epigynial plate 150 µm long and 110 µm wide, helmet-like, bearing a crown-like anterior extension; posterior margin behind coxae IV, anterior margin behind coxae I. Surface of plate with punctuations and many shining pores. Ventral region with 4 pairs of sternal (st1-st4) setae, and 7 pairs of ventri-anal setae. Sternal setae st1 inserted at the level coxae II, close to epigynium; st2-st3 lateral to genital aperture, st4 behind epigynial plate. Anterior sternal region with a chitinous wrinkled surface process. Ventrianal plate ornamented with micropunctations and small porous shining markings. All ventral setae simple, smooth, needle-like. Peritremes at level of coxae II and pedofossae III, anterior prolongation directed exteriorly. Stigmatal openings with short posterior prolongations. Endopodal line absent. Exopodal plate ornamented with shining pores. Pedofossal grooves distinct and well developed, fossae IV also with shining pores. Anal opening 13 µm in diameter. Post-anal seta present and similar in form to the other ventral setae.

Gnathosoma ( Fig. 17 ). Chelicerae unidentate, with large nodus, movable digit 30 µm, fixed digit 52 µm, and middle section 160 µm long ( Fig. 17 A). Setae h1 simple, smooth, thorn-like, almost reaching end of laciniae. Setae h2 smooth, short and stout, reaching base of h1. Setae h3, h4 branched; h4 reaching past base of h3, and h2 reaching base of h1. Corniculus horn-like, with blunt end. Hypostomal constrictions present between h3. Deutosternum with superficial denticulation ( Fig. 17 C). Epistome with triangular base and denticulate lateral margins, denticles gradually lengthening from tip to base ( Fig. 17 B). Tritosternal base vase-shaped, medio-lateral lacinia laterally denticulate and tip bifid, lateral part of laciniae denticulate and shorter than middle part; lateral branches denticulate on one side ( Fig. 17 D). Palps short and robust, palp tarsus with a set of tactile setae, ventral setae of trochanter finely denticulate ( Fig. 17 E).

Legs ( Fig. 18 ). Legs I–II directed anteriorly, and III–IV posteriorly. Tarsi II–IV with a pair of claws at tip of ambulacral prolongation; tarsi I with a lighter claw on a delicate ambulacrum. Whip-like setae longer than tarsi I. Setae on all legs simple and thorn-like. Femurs and trochanters bearing a membraneous flange.

Male. Dorsum. All dorsal features as in females. Length of idiosoma 575 µm, width 430 µm.

Ven te r ( Fig. 19 ). Surface of sternal plate ornamented with micropunctations and small rounded hollows. Sternal setae straight and thorn-like. Sternal setae st1 inserted level with coxae II, st2-st4 anterior of genital aperture on line, st5 close to posterior end of plate.

Genital aperture circular, between coxae IV, and surrounded thick chitinous wall. Genital plate 45 µm long and 40 µm wide. Surface of genital plate with micropunctation. Sternal plate with a chitinous wrinckled surface ornamentations in front of genital plate.

Legs. A sexual dimorphism occurs in femur II which bears a powerful apophysis ( Fig. 18 E).

Other morphological features, setal arrangement, body shape and patterns as for female.

Deutonymph, protonymph and larva. Unknown.

Remarks. Hirschmann (1989) reviewed the cosmopolitan genus Uroobovella and created 23 species-groups for easy identification. All distinctive characters for the speciesgroups of the genus Uroobovella are summarised below, emphasising the distinctive characters of the new species.

U. anatolica sp. nov. is differentiated from the vinicolora, pergibba, costai, schulzi, tricuspis, hilli, marginata, ruhmi, coprophila, flagelliger, fimicola, appendiculata, minima, ipidis species-groups and all related species by the presence of five pairs of sternal setae in males (4 in females).

Hovewer, the foveolata, venusta, elegans, formosana, rackei , micherdzinski, fracta, carinata, pulchella and vitzhumi species-groups and related species share the same number of sternal setae (5 pairs in male 5, 4 pairs in females). The new species is differentiated from the foveolata, venusta and elegans species-groups, by the presence of a pair of claws on pretarsus I. Members of formosana species-group possess a pair of claws on legs I, but, lack marginal plates and endopodal lines, and their males do not have an apophysis on legs II. On the other hand, in U. rackei , there is a well-developed marginal plate, but the dorsal and ventral plates are separated by a soft chitinised area containing platelets. The new species is differentiated from U. rackei by the relatively hard and heavily sclerotised processes between the dorsal and ventral plates. The species groups micherdzinski, fracta, carinata, pulchella have a marginal plate as a distinctive character in common with the new species. Hovewer, the new species is differentiated from the micherdzinski and fracta species-groups by the presence of structural ornamentation on these plates. The carinata species-group has a dorsal hunch-backed carina, which does not exist in the new species. The new species differs from vitzhumi species-group by the absence of lateral shoulder and vertex, deep circular and polygonal hollows on the plates, marginal plates with densely undulating marginal plate internally, and endopodal line and tasseled setae on marginal plate. Finally, the pectinata species-group does not have leg pedofossae, in contrast with the new species.

The new species shares some morphological characters with the species of the pulchella group. The members of this species-group have 5 pairs of sternal setae in males and 4 in females; the idiosoma is egg shaped or widely oval; endopodal lines are present, legs I lack claws; with a well-developed marginal plate and with structural plates are present; and the marginal plate is smooth sided medially. The new species is closely related to U. denticulata Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol 1972 in the pulchella speciesgroup, which has some very similar morphological characters with the new species: with web-like patterns on plates, presence of well developed endopodal lines, and the existence of short simple setae on the dorsal, marginal, lateral, sternal and ventral plates. Hovewer, the epigynium is the most distinctive character for U. denticulata , which has a wide and notched extension apically, as wide as the epigynium.

In summary, U. anatolica sp. nov. differs from all of its congeners by the following combinaton of character: males with five (and females four) pairs of sternal setae; tarsi I without claws; dorsal plate smooth and without ornamentation; tongue-like epigynium with a dentate anterior prolongation; leg pedofossae well-developed; marginal plate present and not fragmented posteriorly; all dorsal, marginal, lateral and ventral setae simple, smooth and thorn-like; sternal plate with a chitinous wrinkled surface ornamentations near anterior end of epigynium, ventri-anal and epigynial plates ornamented with micropunctations and small circular pores; soft cuticle supporting dorsal and ventral plates absent, and cuticle of this region hardened and sclerotised; medial borders of marginal plate smooth and without chitinous undulations; hyaline prolongation of fixed digit of chelicera knife-like; peritremes hook-like anteriorly and the anterior end inclined inward, and posterior prolongation smooth; and males with apophysis in leg femora II.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Uroobovella anatolica sp. nov., dorsal idiosoma of female; scale: 200 µm.

FIGURE 16. Uroobovella anatolica, ventral idiosoma of female; scale: 200 µm.

FIGURE 17. Uroobovella anatolica sp. nov., female. A: Ventral view of gnathosoma; B: Tritosternum; C: Epistome; D: Chelicera; E: Palp; scale: 100 µm.

FIGURE 18. Uroobovella anatolica sp. nov., female. A: leg I; B: leg II; C: leg III; D: leg IV; male. E: femur II with apophysis; scale: 100 µm.

FIGURE 19. Uroobovella anatolica sp. nov., dorsal idiosoma of male; scale: 200 µm.