Aceria utzkae, Vidović, Biljana, 2014

Vidović, Biljana, 2014, A new species and record of Aceria (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyoidea) on Carlina spp. (Asteraceae) from Serbia, Zootaxa 3838 (4), pp. 486-494 : 487-490

Aceria utzkae n. sp.

( Fig. 1 )

Female: (n = 10). Body wormlike 200 (199–206), 61 (60–67) wide, whitish in colour. Gnathosoma 20 (16–21), downcurved, dorsal pedipalp genual setae (d) 6 (5–6), cheliceral stylets 20 (16–20). Prodorsal shield 30 (29–31), 46 (40–46) wide. Posterior section semi-elliptic; anterior half triangular, with pointed lobe over gnathosoma. Prodorsal shield tubercles on rear shield margin, 25 (22–27) apart, scapular setae (sc) 45 (42–50), projecting posteriorly. Prodorsal shield design composed of one complete median line and two complete admedian lines; I submedian lines slightly curved, extending from anterior margin and ending in middle of shield; II submedian lines on anterior half of shield, running parallel to I submedian lines and ending in middle. Legs with all usual segments and setae. Leg I 35 (32–36); femur 10 (9–11), basiventral femoral setae (bv) 12 (10–12); genu 5, antaxial genual setae (l") 29 (27–29); tibia 8 (7–8), paraxial tibial setae (l') 8 (8–9); tarsus 7 (6–7), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft') 16 (14–18), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft") 23 (23–28); tarsal solenidion (ω) 9 (8–9), distally rounded; tarsal empodium 7 (7–8), 7-rayed. Leg II 31 (29–32); femur 8 (8–9), basiventral femoral setae (bv) 11 (9–12); genu 5 (4–5), antaxial genual setae (l") 14 (13–14); tibia 6 (6–7); tarsus 6 (6–7), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft') 6 (6–7), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft") 26 (25–29); tarsal solenidion (ω) 9 (9–10), distally rounded; tarsal empodium 7 (6–7) and 7-rayed. Coxigenital area with 8 (8–11) coxogenital annuli. Coxae with a pattern of numerous dashes. Sternal line 7 (7–8) long. Anterolateral setae on coxisternum I (1b) 11(9–12), 13 (12–14) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum I (1a) 21 (17–22), 9 (9–10) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum II (2a) 48 (43–52), 23 (23–27) apart. Genitalia 16 (14–16), 27 (26–28) wide, genital coverflap with 20 (17–21) longitudinal striae in single row; proximal setae on coxisternum III (3a) 16 (14–17), 20 (20–22) apart. Opisthosoma with subequal annuli: 80 (76–83) dorsal and 88 (82–93) ventral annuli. Annuli with rounded microtubercles. Setae c2 28 (25–28), 55 (47–57) apart, on annulus 14 (13–15); setae d 59 (59–67), 42 (40–47) apart, on annulus 31 (30–35); setae e 13 (12–15), 25 (23–25) apart, on annulus 52 (50–57); setae f 25 (22–26), 19 (18–21) apart, on annulus 81 (75–84); setae h2 87 (82–90), 11 (9–11) apart; setae h1 5 (5–6), 6 (6–7) apart.

Male: (n=5). Body wormlike 200 (182–201), 57 (57–60) wide. Gnathosoma 21 (18–21), dorsal pedipalp genual setae (d) 6, cheliceral stylets 17 (17–19). Prodorsal shield shape and design similar to female; 29 (29–31), 41 (40–44) wide. Tubercles of scapular setae (sc) located on rear shield margin, 25 (23–26) apart, sc 43 (38–43), projecting posteriorly. Leg I 34 (33–35); femur 9, basiventral femoral setae (bv) 10 (10–11); genu 6 (5–6), antaxial genual setae (l") 28 (25–28); tibia 7, paraxial tibial setae (l ′) 7; tarsus 6 (6–7), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft') 16 (15–16), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft") 27 (25–28); tarsal solenidion (ω) 9 (8–9), distally rounded; tarsal empodium 7 (6–7) and 7-rayed. Leg II 31; femur 8 (7–8), bv 12 (11–12); genu 4 (4–5), l" 15 (14–16); tibia 7 (6–7); tarsus 6 (6–7), ft' 7 (7–8), ft" 26 (23–27); tarsal solenidion (ω) 10 (9–10), distally rounded; tarsal empodia 6- and 7- rayed. Coxigenital area 8 (7–9), coxogenital annuli similar to female. Anterolateral setae on coxisternum I (1b) 11 (9–12), 13 (12–13) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum I (1a) 19 (16–20), 9 (8–9) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum II (2a) 39 (37–45), 24 (21–24) apart. Genitalia 22 (19–23) wide, proximal setae on coxisternum III (3a) 14 (12–15), 15 (15–16) apart. Opisthosoma with subequal annuli: 80 (71–80) dorsal annuli, 83 (74–83) ventral annuli. Annuli with microtubercles similar to female. Setae c2 27 (27–35), 48 (46–51) apart, on annulus 13; setae d 56 (52–62), 35 (35–39) apart, on annulus 28 (25–28); setae e 14 (13–15), 21 (20–22) apart, on annulus 43 (40–44); setae f 20 (19–23), 15 (15–16) apart, on annulus 76 (68–76); setae h2 85 (75–85), 9 apart; setae h1 5 (5–6), 6 apart.

Nymph: (n=2). Body wormlike 139–142, 53 wide. Gnathosoma 19 long downcurved, dorsal pedipalp genual setae (d) 4, cheliceral stylets 17–18. Prodorsal shield shape and design similar to female, 25–27, 29–32 wide. Scapular setae (sc) 35–36, 15–16 apart, directed to rear and diverging. Leg I 23–24; femur 7, basiventral femoral setae (bv) 5; genu 4, antaxial genual setae (l") 21–22; tibia 5, paraxial tibial setae (l') 4–5; tarsus 5, paraxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft') 11–14, anaxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft") 19–21; tarsal solenidion (ω) 6–7, distally rounded; tarsal empodium 5–6, 6-rayed. Leg II 21–22; femur 5–6, basiventral femoral setae (bv) 5–6; genu 4, antaxial genual setae (l") 9; tibia 5; tarsus 4, paraxial fastigial tarsalsetae (ft') 6, anaxial fastigial tarsal setae (ft") 19; tarsal solenidion (ω) 7, distally rounded; tarsal empodium 5, 6-rayed. Coxigenital area with 15 coxigenital annuli. Anterolateral setae on coxisternum I (1b) 6–7, 10 apart; proximal setae on coxisternum I (1a) 11–13, 6–7 apart; proximal setae on coxisternum II (2a) 28, 18 apart. Opisthosoma with 60 dorsal annuli, 64–65 ventral annuli. Setae c 2 13–14, 43 apart, on ventral annulus 14; setae d 28–30, 17 apart, on ventral annulus 27; setae e 9–10, 15 apart, on ventral annulus 41; setae f 16–17, 16 apart, on ventral annulus 59–60; setae h2 61–63, 8 apart; setae h1 5, 5 apart.

Larva. Not found

Type material. Female holotype (microscope slide # 204/8) and paratypes: 48 females (slide ## 204/1–7, 204/ 9–49); 11 males (slides ## 204/50–60) and 3 nymphs (slides ## 204/61–63). All collected from Carlina acanthifolia subsp. utzka (Hacq.) Meusel & Kästner (Asteraceae) , Goč, Serbia (43 ◦ 33.519'N, 20 ◦ 44.243'E), 10 July 2007, coll. D. Smiljanić.

Additional material. 9 females (slides ## 210/1–9), 2 males (slides ## 210/10–11). Collected from same host as holotype and paratypes but different locality: Tara, Serbia (43 ◦ 57.005'N, 19 ◦ 19.288'E), 13 July 2007, coll. B. Vidović.

Etymology. The species name " utzkae " is derived from the subspecies name of the type host plant on which the new mite species was found.

Host plant. Carlina acanthifolia subsp. utzka (Hacq.) Meusel & Kästner (Asteraceae) . Synonym Carlina utzka Hacq.

Relation to the host. The mites are vagrants on the lower leaf surfaces. No visible damage was observed.

Differential diagnosis and remarks. The genus Aceria includes over 900 valid species ( Amrine et al. 2003). There are 25 Aceria species on plants from the tribe Cardueae that have been described up until now ( Amrine & Stasny 1994; Petanović 1998; Petanović & Stanković 1999; Petanović et al. 2000; de Lillo et al. 2003, Vidović 2011; de Lillo 2012; Lotfollahi et al. 2013). They all have 4, 5 or 6-rayed tarsal empodia, compared to A. utzkae n.

sp. which has 7 rays. Only one eriophyoid species had been described from Carlina spp., namely Aceria carlinae (Nalepa) . Since the original description of this species lacks detail, the supplementary description provided by Mifsud et al. (2006–2007) was used for the evaluation of morphological characters presented here. In comparison, A. utzkae n. sp. is generally larger ( A. utzkae = 199–206; A. carlinae = 160–195) and has a higher number of opisthosomal annuli ( A. utzkae = 76–93; A. carlinae = 68–75). Differences also include: a longer and wider female genital coverflap with a higher number of striae ( A. utzkae = 17–21; A. carlinae = 12–15); a higher number of rays on the tarsal empodia ( A. utzkae = 7; A. carlinae = 5); significantly longer sc, c2, d and h2 setae; a slightly longer and significantly wider prodorsal shield featuring a different design. Also, each species has a different shaped anteromedian lobe over the gnathosoma: A. utzkae has a pointed lobe whereas A. carlinae has a rounded lobe. Although both species have complete admedian and median lines, A. utzkae has longer first submedian lines and shorter second submedian lines. Beside those characters, there are no granules or other lines located between the admedian and median lines on the prodorsal shield of A. utzkae , unlike in A. carlinae . The differing morphometric characters between A. carlinae and the new species, A. utzkae , are presented in Table 1 . Besides such meristic and qualitative differences, both species have different lifestyles on their respective host plants: A. carlinae causes leaf erinea, whereas A. utzkae n.sp. is a vagrant on the leaf surface, causing no apparent damage.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aceria utzkae n. sp.: AL. Antero-lateral view of mite; CG. Coxigenital region of female; DA. Dorsal view of prodorsal shield; em. Empodium; GM. Genital region of male; IG. Internal female genitalia; L 1. Leg I of female; LO. Lateral opisthosoma; PM. Postero-lateral mite. Scale bar: 25 Μm for DA, CG, GM; 20 Μm for L 1; 10 Μm for em.