Neoseiulus thymeleae Tixier, Kretier & Allam

Tixier, Marie-Stephane, Allam, Latifa, Douin, Martial & Kreiter, Serge, 2016, Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) of Morocco: new records, descriptions of five new species, re-descriptions of two species, and key for identification, Zootaxa 4067 (5), pp. 501-551 : 529-531

Neoseiulus thymeleae Tixier, Kretier & Allam , new species

Specimens examined: Holotype female, collected in 2002, Forest of Mamora on Thymelea sp. ( Thymelaeaceae ) and seven paratype females collected in the same locality and the same plant material. Deposited in the Montpellier SupAgro.— INRA Acarology collection. Two paratype females in the University of Meknes.

Description of the adult female (n = 10) ( Figs 12–16 )

Diagnosis. Female dorsal shield longitudinaly striated. Setae ZV3 and JV3 absent. Peritremes short, extending between z4 and s4 and sometimes at most z4. Sternal shield with two pairs of setae; posterior margin concave. Ventri-anal shield elongated, with three pairs of setae and small pores. Calyx of spermatheca cup-shaped. Fixed and movable digits of chelicera with two teeth. Genu II with eight setae. No macroseta on leg IV.

Dorsum ( Fig. 12 ). Dorsal shield 356 (335–370) long and 181 (175–195) wide, longitudinaly striated, with three solenostomes (gd2, gd6, and gd9), 13 pairs of poroids, 17 pairs of dorsal setae and two pairs of sub-lateral setae: j1 14 (10–15), j3 17 (15–18), j4 8 (10–12), j5 9 (8–10), j6 10 (8–12), J2 10 (8–12), J5 9 (8–10), z2 17 (15– 18), Z1 13 (14–15), z4 19 (15–20), z5 10 (8–10), Z4 26 (23–30), Z5 36 (35–38), s4 27 (23–30), S2 20 (20–22), S4 19 (18–22), S5 18 (18–20), r3 27 (23–27), R1 21 (18–23). All setae smooth and shap-tipped, Z5 thicker and serrated. Peritreme short, extending between z4 and s4 and sometimes at most z4 ( Fig. 12 ).

Venter ( Fig. 13 ). All shields lightly reticulated. Sternal shield with two pairs of setae and two pairs of lyrifissures; two pairs of sternal setae on small metasternal plates; posterior margin concave. Distances between ST1 – ST3 65 (63–68), ST2 – ST2 59 (58–60), ST5–ST5 59 (55–63). Two pairs of metapodal plates 41 (38–45) long, 4 (3–4) wide for the largest and 15 (13–15) long 2 (1–3) wide for the smallest. Ventri-anal shield with three pairs of pre-anal setae, JV1, JV2, and ZV2, and presence of very small pre-anal pores with stainy aspects. Membrane surrounding ventri-anal shield with three pairs of setae ZV1, JV4 and JV5, and five pairs of round to oblong poroids; ventri-anal shield 113 (110–118) long, 85 (80–90) wide at level of anterior corners, and 72 (70–83) wide at level of anus. JV5 27 (25–28) long.

Legs ( Fig. 14 ). Legs IV with no macrosetae. Chaetotactic formula of genu II: eight setae, 2 2/1, 2/0 1; genu III: seven setae, 1 2/1, 2/0 1. Length of leg I: 255 (245–260), II: 213 (210–220), III: 208 (205–215), IV: 272 (270–280).

Chelicera ( Fig. 15 ). Fixed digit 25 long with five teeth; and movable digit 20 long with two teeth.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 16 ). Cup-shaped and pocular ( Denmark et al., 1999), with a cervix 12 long and 2 wide, with an atrium well differentiated.

Etymology. The name “ thymeleae ” refers to the genus of the host plant (Thymelea) on which the new species was found.

Remarks. This species is similar to Neoseiulus leucophaeus Athias-Henriot as both lack setae JV3 and ZV3, both have similar shape of spermathecae, chaetotaxy of genu II and genu III, and the metapodal plates shape and lengths. Neoseiulus leucophaeus was found in Algeria on Thymelaea hirsuta and reported afterwards in Greece (Stathakis & Papadoulis, 2012; Stathakis et al., 2013) and Israel (Swirski & Amitai, 1997b) on the same plant. Neoseiulus thymeleae is also here reported from the same plant genus. However, N. thymeleae differs from N. leucophaeus in the length of various setae, especially Z4 and Z5 ( Table 3 ), in the absence of macrosetae on the length IV, in the chelicera dentition (two teeth on the movable digit instead of one for N. leucophaeus ).

N. thymeleae n. sp. Types of N. leucophaeus This species has JV3 and ZV3 absent. The absence of these two setae within the sub-family Amblyseiinae is observed in 29 other species ( Amblyseius koumacensis Schicha , Amblyseius paucisetosus McMurtry & Moraes , Asperoseius lagunensis Corpuz-Raros , Afroseiulus robertsi ( Baker) and all the species of the genera Eharius , Paraamblyseius and Phytoscutus ). It is interesting to note that Neoseiulus thymeleae shares also other similar (convergent) features with the species of the genus Eharius . First, the species of the genus Eharius are mainly reported from the southern part of the Mediterranean basin. Second, Eharius species are small and strait and have the dorsum with striation as Neoseiulus thymeleae .

Figures

FIGURES 12 – 16. Neoseiulus thymeleae n. sp., female. 12. Dorsal shield; 13. Ventral idiosoma; 14. Tibia and basitarsus IV; 15. Chelicera; 16. Spermatheca.