Hirsutiella steineri ( Kepka, 1966 )

Stekolnikov, Alexandr & Daniel, Milan, 2012, 3216, Zootaxa 3216, pp. 1-104 : 26-28

Hirsutiella steineri ( Kepka, 1966)

( Figs. 16, 17)

Neotrombicula (Digenualea) steineri Kepka, 1966: 50 , Abb. 1(g), 2.

Neotrombicula (Neotrombicula) steineri, Kolebinova 1969:15 .

Neotrombicula (Hirsutiella) steineri, Kolebinova 1992: 122 , fig. 62.

Hirsutiella steineri, Stekolnikov, 2001d: 225 , fig. 3.

Diagnosis. SIF = 7BS-B-3-2111.1000; fPp = B/B/BBB; fCx = 1.1.1; fSt = 2.2; fSc: PL> AL> AM; Ip = 918–1237; DS = 80–128; VS = 58–100; NDV = 141–213. Standard measurements are given in Tables 5 and 6.

Type material (not examined). Holotype and paratypes, collected in Giresun Prov. of Turkey (near Yavuzkemal, Biçik), were deposited in IZUG .

Material from Turkey examined. 16 larvae (ZISP) ex Chionomys nivalis , Trabzon Prov., Kalkanli (Zigana) Mts, 2500 m a.s.l., 11 June 1998, coll. AAS; 3 larvae (ZISP) ex Apodemus mystacinus , GümüŞhane Prov., UğurtaŞı, 1750 m a.s.l., 12 June 1998, coll. AAS; 3 larvae (ZISP) ex Ch. nivalis , Erzurum Prov., 1.5 km N from Güzelyayla, 2300 m a.s.l., 16 June 1998, coll. AAS; 6 larvae (ZISP) ex Ch. nivalis , Cricetulus migratorius , and A. (Sylvaemus) sp., Erzurum Prov., northern slope of Mescit Range, 2650 m a.s.l., 19 June 1998, coll. AAS; 2 larvae (ZISP) ex Ch. nivalis , ibidem, 1.5 km S from Ahlatli, 2030 m a.s.l., 20 June 1998, coll. AAS; 2 larvae (ZISP) ex A. (Sylvaemus) sp., ibidem, 2.3 km NW from Ahlatli, 1800 m a.s.l., 21 June 1998, coll. AAS; 1 larva (ZISP) ex Microtus majori , Artvin Prov., East Pontic Mts, 2.8 km NE from Marsis Mt, 2400 m a.s.l., 24 June 1998, coll. AAS; 7 larvae (ZISP) ex M. majori , A. ponticus , and A. (Sylvaemus) sp., Rize Prov., upper part of Çağlayan (Abu) valley, 1000 m a.s.l., 27 and 28 June 1998, coll. AAS; 3 larvae (ZISP) ex M. majori , ibidem, 500 m a.s.l., 29 June 1998, coll. AAS; 3 larvae (ZISP) ex A. witherbyi , Antalya Prov., 2 km E from Avlan Lake, 1300 m a.s.l., 24 April 2009, coll. AAS; 12 larvae (ZISP) ex Ch. nivalis , Antalya Prov., 6 km SWW from Kizlarsivrisi Mt, 2135 m a.s.l., 26 April 2009, coll. AAS; 2 larvae (ZISP) ex A. witherbyi , Adana Prov., 8 km NE from Karanfil Mt, 1678 m a.s.l., 4 May 2009, coll. AAS.

Hosts. Chionomys gud (Satunin) , Ch. nivalis (Martins) , Ch. roberti (Thomas) , Cricetulus migratorius (Pallas) , Myodes glareolus (Schreber) , Microtus agrestis (L.), M. daghestanicus (Shidlovsky) , M. majori Thomas , Apodemus agrarius (Pallas) , A. flavicollis (Melchior) , A. mystacinus (Danford and Alston) , A. ponticus (Sviridenko) , A. sylvaticus (L.), A. uralensis (Pallas) , A. witherbyi Thomas.

Distribution. Bulgaria, Russia (Krasnodarskiy Krai, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Dagestan), Turkey, Armenia. Previous records from Turkey: Biçik, Karamanlik-Mese ( Kepka 1966).

Remarks. In the Caucasus, this species is represented by two morphometric forms, western and eastern, with the border between them running east to Elbrus Mt. In Turkey, both these forms were found ( Stekolnikov 2003). Specimens collected on the Kalkanli Mts at 2500 m a.s.l. belong to the western form, while other materials belong to the eastern form. The western form differs from the eastern one in having larger scutum, longer legs and setae, and larger number of idiosomal setae. Most of the differences by individual morphometric characters are statistically significant, but the attempts to obtain reliable discrimination between the forms using discriminant analysis were unsuccessful. We provide here measurements and figures for these forms separately.