Pterygosoma patagonica, Cruz, Katharina Dittmar De La, Morando, Mariana & A, Luciano Av I L, 2004

Cruz, Katharina Dittmar De La, Morando, Mariana & A, Luciano Av I L, 2004, Description of a new pterygosomatid mite (Acari, Actinedida: Pterygosomatidae) parasitic on Liolaemus spp. (Iguania: Liolaemini) from Argentina, Zootaxa 521, pp. 1-6 : 2-6

Pterygosoma patagonica n. sp.

( Figs. 1–4 )

Diagnosis: — Color of specimens dark brown in life. Body shape of both sexes horizontally oval. Dorsal scutum well defined in both sexes.

Female — (n = 5). Idiosoma: length 483–535 µm, width 640–655 µm.

Gnathosoma ­ Gnathosoma generally recessed into an apical fold (45–55 µm) ( Fig. 2 , Fig. 4 B).

Dorsum — Dorsal setae located peripherally and of a pectinate appearance, with anterior setae slightly shorter than posterior ones ( Fig. 1 , Fig. 4 A.). Two pairs of setae placed in quadrangular fashion in posterior median half of dorsum ( Fig. 1 ). Rest of median area, as well as venter completely devoid of any setation. Hysterosomal striation transverse.

Scutum — Scutum bearing on average 52 stout, conical, pectinate setae, all considerably shorter (ca. 22 µm) than other dorsal setae (ca. 40 µm) ( Fig 4 B). A pair of conical, somewhat longer setae medianly located, ca. 20 µm from posterior margin of scutum.

Legs — All legs of equal length. Coxae I and II, as well as III and IV fused, respectively. Coxae I/II located ventrally in anterior half of body, coxae III/IV located in posterior part. Coxal plate I/II bearing three nude seta, coxal plate III/IV bearing two nude setae.

Leg chaetotaxy — Leg chaetotaxy as follows (5­3­3­3) (3­3­2­2) (3­3­2­2[1]) (1[2]­1­ 1­1[0]) ( Fig.3 ; Fig. 4 F).

Tarsus I Tarsus II Tarsus III Tarsus IV td * td td td tdf * * * * tld * * * * tlm ø ø ø ø tlv * * * * blv * mv mv mv alm ø ø ø ø md * ø ø ø 1 * ø ø ø 2 * ø ø ø

ø * * ø Tarsal setation — Following setae present on all tarsi: terminal dorsal simple setae (td, paired or unpaired); terminal dorsal fan­like setae (tdf, always paired); terminal latero­ventral setae (always paired, smooth); basal latero­ventral setae (blv, paired or unpaired, feathery). Specification of all setae (td, tdf, tld, tlm, tlv, blv, alm, md, 1, 2,) given in Table 1 and figure 4E.

Venter – Striation transverse and smooth, no setae present. Genital field mainly ventral in position ( Fig. 4 C). Four perigenital setae and 2 spinelike setae crossing the genital opening present.

Male — Holotypes 530–535 µm long, including mouthparts, and about 600–635 µm wide in the widest part.

Leg chaetotaxy (5­3­3­3) (3­3[2]­2­2) (3­3­2­2[1]) (1­1­1­1[0]).

Aedeagus — Elongate, straight in proximal part, distal part sinuous ( Fig.4 D). Two pairs of mid­dorsal setae flanking genital opening.

Remarks — Special mention must be made in respect to the genal and femoral setation, which shows a higher number of setae then any of the know setation patterns of Pterygosoma ( Jack, 1964) . Thus, this species forms it’s own group.

The mites were firmly attached under the abdominal and ventral scales of extremities, rarely on the ventral scales of the tail.

Material examined — Examination of individuals ex. Liolaemus buergeri Werner , L. bibroni Bell , L. petrophilus Donoso­Barros and Cei , L. austromendocinus Cei , L. elongatus Koslowsky , and L. gracilis Bell , from the provinces of Neuquén, Chubut, Mendoza and Rio Negro, Argentina.

Type series (5 male and female specimens, cleared in lactic acid and mounted in Berlese medium) deposited in the collection of the Insect Genomics Lab, at Brigham Young University (please refer to Katharina Dittmar De La Cruz ).

Etymology — Since this particular parasite seems to be distributed primarily in Patagonia, we chose the epithet “ patagonica ”.

Distribution — The main distribution of mites of the genus Pterygosoma is on Old World Agamidae and Geckonidae. The new finding of a Pterygosoma sp. on iguanid lizards in Argentina expands their distribution to the New World (fig.5). Within Argentina, its distribution was assessed as stretching from the Province of Catamarca (26°51'48? S 66°44' 19?W) southward along the Andes to the southern borders of the Province Chubut (42°22'35?S, 67°35'42?W).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Chaetotaxy of tibia, genu, femur and trochanter of Pterygosoma patagonica n. sp .. Boxed loci correspond to variation (scheme after Jack, 1964).

FIGURE 4. Pterygosoma patagonica n. sp.; A, Dorsal aspect of female. B, Gnathosoma and scutal aspect. pt: peritremes, scs: scutal setae, bs: body setae. C, Female genital area, ventral view. D, Male overview with genital area and aedeagus. E, Tarsal setation, tarsus I, lateral view. F, Setation of right leg I, II, female, ventral view.

FIGURES 1 – 2. Pterygosoma patagonica, n. sp., female. 1, Dorsal aspect; 2, Apical fold with retrieved gnathosoma.