Amblyseius curticalyx Zannou, Moraes & Oliveira

Zannou, Ignace D., De, Gilberto J., Ueckermann, Eddie A., Oliveira, Anibal R., Yaninek, John S. & Hanna, Rachid, 2007, Phytoseiid mites of the subtribe Amblyseiina (Acari: Phytoseiidae: Amblyseiini) from sub-Saharan Africa, Zootaxa 1550, pp. 1-47 : 9

Amblyseius curticalyx Zannou, Moraes & Oliveira , n. sp.

( Fig. 4 )

DIAGNOSIS—Seta Z1 present; setae Z5 longer than distance between their bases; ratios s4:Z1 = 6.2, s4:S2 = 4.7. Ventrianal shield subpentagonal. Fixed cheliceral digit with 7–8 teeth. Genu of leg I with a macroseta. Spermatheca with calyx short, saccular, narrowed medially and flaring near vesicle; atrium bifurcate.

FEMALE—(Specimen measured—Zambia: 1). Idiosomal setal pattern 10A:9B/JV-3:ZV.

Dorsum ( Fig. 4 A)—Dorsal shield smooth, 328 long and 187 wide. Setae j1 22, j3 31, j4 5, j5 5, j6 6, J2 9, J5 6, z2 9, z4 8, z5 5, Z1 9, Z4 73, Z5 109, s4 56, S2 11, S4 11, S5 11, r3 12, R1 11. Setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, lightly serrate.

Peritreme—Extending beyond level of j1.

Venter ( Fig. 4 B)—Sternal shield mostly smooth, with few lateral striae, posterior margin slightly concave; distances between, St1-St3 61, St2-St2 62. Genital shield smooth; distance between St5-St5 55. Ventrianal shield smooth, subpentagonal, constricted at level of preanal pores, anterior margin straight, 103 long, 92 wide at level of Zv2 and 83 wide at level of anus; preanal pores elliptical, mesad and slightly posterior to Jv2. Two pairs of metapodal shields.

Chelicera—Position renders illustrations impossible; movable digit 30 long, apparently with 3 teeth; fixed digit 27 long, apparently with 7–8 teeth and a pilus dentilis.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 4 C)—calyx short, saccular, narrowed medially and flaring near vesicle, 8 long; atrium bifurcate.

Legs—Sharp-tipped macrosetae: Sge I 28, Sge II 31, Sge III 34, Sti III 25, Sge IV 56, Sti IV 42, St IV 59); presence of a prominent erect seta at base of tarsus I.

MALE—Unknown.

LOCALITY AND TYPE MATERIAL—Holotype female from Rhynchelytrum repens , 84 km S Kasama, Zambia, 16-VI-1992, A. Onzo, deposited at ESALQ-USP.

ETYMOLOGY—The epithet curticalyx refers to the short calyx of spermatheca of this species.

REMARKS— Amblyseius ovalitectus van der Merwe, 1968 differs by having setae Z5 shorter than the distance between their bases and by having ventrianal shield subtriangular, without lateral constriction. Amblyseius monacus Wainstein, 1975 and Amblyseius pamperisi Papadoulis, 1997 differ from the new species by having atrium of the spermatheca nodular and not bifurcate. In addition, A. monacus has z2 and z4 at least twice as long as in the new species, while A. pamperisi has 15 teeth on the fixed cheliceral digit and calyx of spermatheca is at least 3 times longer that in the new species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Amblyseius curticalyx Zannou, Moraes & Oliveira, n. sp. (Fig. 4) (female): A. Dorsal shield; B. Ventral surface; C. Spermatheca; D. Leg IV.