Neoatractides (Allotorrenticola) tashiwangmoi, PešićK & K & K, 2022

PešićK, Vladimir, K, Harry Smit & K, Mer Man Gurung, 2022, Torrenticolid water mites of Bhutan. Genera Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 and Neoatractides Lundblad, 1941 (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Torrenticolidae), Acarologia 1941 (3), pp. 821-860 : 856-859

Neoatractides (Allotorrenticola) tashiwangmoi sp. nov.

Zoobank: 8B40DA24-8864-4E00-86FB-E20587237305

Figures 24L, 25

Material examined — Holotype ♀, dissected and slide mounted, Bhutan, MG5 Dakpay Chhu , 27.14621°N, 90.69220°E, 539 m asl, 27.x.2021.

Diagnosis (Male unknown) — Frontal and shoulder platelets relatively slender, and similar in dimensions; Cxgl-4 anterior to Cxgl-2 and located adjacent to II-Leg insertion; P-2 proportionally very long; ventral margin of P-2 and P-3 each with a moderately long seta, but without developed projections.

Description — Female – Idiosoma oval; dorsal shield without a colour pattern (as photographed in Figure 24K); area of primary sclerotization of the dorsal plate with four dorsoglandularia; shoulder platelets of similar dimensions as frontal platelets; gnathosomal bay shallow, U-shaped, proximally rounded; Cxgl-4 anterior to Cxgl-2 and located adjacent to II-Leg insertion; medial suture line of Cx-II+III short; genital field relatively large; suture lines of Cx-IV distinctly extending posteriorly beyond posterior margin of genital field; excretory pore and Vgl-2 away from the line of primary sclerotization, excretory pore on the level of Vgl-2; gnathosoma with a slightly curved ventral margin, rostrum relatively slender, cheliceral claw very large ( Figure 25E); P-2 proportionally very long; ventral margin of P-2 and P-3 each with a moderately long seta, but without developed projections; P-4 and P-5 proportionally very short ( Figure 25D).

Measurements – Idiosoma (ventral view: Figure 25C) L 677, W 478; dorsal shield ( Figure 25B) L 544, W 425, L/W ratio 1.28; dorsal plate L 506; shoulder plate L 156, W 66, L/W ratio 2.4; frontal plate L 149–152, W 53–56, L/W ratio 2.7–2.8; shoulder/frontal plate L 1.03–1.05. Gnathosomal bay L 95, Cx-I total L 265, Cx-I mL 169, Cx-II+III mL 13; ratio Cx-I L/Cx-II+III

mL 21.2; Cx-I mL/Cx-II+III mL 13.5. Genital field L/W 156/131, ratio 1.19; distance genital field-excretory pore 203, genital field-caudal idiosoma margin 242. Gnathosoma vL 309, chelicera L 363; palp total L 167, dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 25/45, 0.55; P-2, 71/30, 2.4; P-3,

34/25, 1.36; P-4, 18/20, 0.9; P-5, 19/16, 1.15; L ratio P-2/P-4 3.9. dL of I-L-5-6: 75, 94; I-L-6

H 39; dL/H I-L-6 ratio 2.4.

Male – Unknown.

Etymology — The species is named after Tashi Wangmo (College of Natural Resources) for the long-lasting support of the junior author.

Discussion — The female of the new species resembles the female of Neoatractides suvarna ( Cook, 1967) , a species described from a small stream in Kerala State of India ( Cook 1967). Females of both species share a P-2 separated from P-1, both P-2 and P-3 are without projections and the frontal plates are almost equal in size to the shoulder plates. The female of the latter species differs by a number of characters, i.e., shoulder and frontal plates broad,

a colour pattern consisting of a posterior purple band and a smaller area of purple in the vicinity of the glandularia of the frontal platelets and the postocularia of shoulder platelets, palpal segments, especially P-2 are shortened, excretory pore located on a tubercle, and Cxgl-4 located close to Cxgl-2 (see Cook 1967).

Distribution — Bhutan (this study).