Atractides hyrcaniensis Pesic, Jabaleh & Saboori

Pesic, Vladimir, Jabaleh, Isa, Saboori, Alireza, Askarianzadeh, Alireza & Asadi, Mahdieh, 2009, Three new water mite species (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from Golestan Province (NE Iran), Zootaxa 2173, pp. 55-65 : 59-62

Atractides hyrcaniensis Pesic, Jabaleh & Saboori sp. nov.

( Figs. 6–11 )

Type material. Holotype (male) dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid ( MNHP). Iran, Golestan Province, Sorkhankalate, ca. 15 km E from Gorgan, vii. 2008. Paratypes: one male, one female, same collecting site and data as holotype, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid.

Additional material. Golestan Province: Jeline Bala city, Garmab Dasht River near Pole Ordogah village, 36º 47΄ 9.1ʺ N, 54º 34΄ 55.29ʺ E, 465 m asl., 03.viii.2008 (1/0/0); Fazel Abad city, Sarmo River near Mohamad Abad village, 36º 49΄ 47.6ʺ N, 54º 47΄ 35.35ʺ E, 500 m asl., 06.viii.2008 (1/0/0); Zarin Gol River near Shirin Abad village, 36º 47΄ 56.2ʺ N, 55º 0 1΄ 0 4.16ʺ E, 1945 m asl., 18.viii.2008 (2/3/0).

Diagnosis. Dorsal integument lineated; dorsal muscle attachment plates unsclerotized. I-Leg-5 longish, S- 1 and S-2 narrow interspace (14–17 μm in male,> 20 μm in female); I-Leg-6 relatively short (ratio I-Leg-5/6 <1.5), sausage-shaped; genital field: Ac in an obtuse triangle; excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 fused to Vgl- 2 in males (this character is unstable), separate in females; palp: strong sexual dimorphism.

Description. Male (measurements of specimens from Sorkhankalate, in parentheses measurements of the specimen from Garmab Dasht: Idiosoma L/W 484–513 (477)/363–366 (356). Integument dorsally lineated. Dorsal muscle attachment plates unsclerotized. Coxal field ( Fig. 6 ): mediocaudal margin of Cx-1+2 indented between the laterally directed apodemes of Cx-2; coxal field L 281–298 (281); Cx-3 W 330–350 (325); Cx- 1+2 mL 77–83 (102); Cx-1+2 lL 184 –200 (189). Palp ( Fig. 7 ): total L 253–264 (252), dL: P-1 27 (28), P-2 59–64 (61), P-3 54–55 (53), P-4 81–86 (80), P-5 32 (30); %L: P-1 10.2–10.7 (11.1), P-2 23.3–24.2 (24.2), P-3 20.8–21.3 (21.0), P-4 32.0–32.6 (31.8), P-5 12.1–12.6 (11.9); L P-2/P-4 0.73–0.74 (0.76); P-2 ventral margin distally protruding, sword seta stout and inserted nearer to distoventral hair of genital field ( Fig. 8 ): with nearly straight or slightly concave anterior margin, Ac in an obtuse triangle; L/W 88–98 (85)/105–111 (96), L Ac-1, -2, - 3 26–33 (23), 31–36 (29), 26–30 (30); excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 fused to Vgl-2 (separated in paratype; fused in specimen from Garmab Dasht).

I-Leg ( Fig. 7 ): I-Leg-5 longish, S-1 and S-2 narrow interspace; I-Leg-6 relatively short, sausage-shaped (only slightly thickened basally); I-Leg-5 dL 144–152 (147), vL 97–100 (99), dL/vL 1.49–1.52 (1.49), HB 45–49 (46), dL/HB 3.1–3.2 (3.2), S-1 L 72–74 (73), L/ W 9.5 –10.9 (9.6), S-2 L 68–70 (64), L/ W 5.8 –6.1 (5.8), distance of sword setae at I-Leg- 5 14–15 (16–17), L S-1/2 1.03–1.09 (1.14); I-Leg-6 L 103–112 (108–110), HB 21 (19–20), L/HB 4.9–5.5 (5.5–5.8); L I-Leg-5/6 1.35–1.4 (1.34).

Female (from, Sorkhankalate, in parentheses measurements of the specimen from Zarin Gol): Idiosoma L/ W 744/556. Integument dorsally lineated. Dorsal muscle attachment plates unsclerotized. Coxal field: L 363 (348), Cx-3 W 441 (413); Cx-1+2 mL 100; Cx-1+2 lL 250 (206). Palp ( Fig. 9 ): total L 332 (341), dL: P-1 34 (35), P-2 79 (80), P-3 80 (88), P-4 100 (100), P-5 39 (38); %L P-1 10.2 (10.3), P-2 23.8 (23.5), P-3 24.1 (25.8), P-4 30.1 (29.3), P-5 11.8 (11.1); L P-2/P-4; P-2 with rounded distal protrusion, P-4 sword seta nearer to distoventral hair; genital field ( Fig. 11 ): Ac in an obtuse triangle; L/W genital field 171 (150)/164 (158), genital plate L 120 (118), L Ac-1, -2, -3 37 (36), 41 (42), 41 (41); excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1 separated from Vgl-2.

I-Leg ( Fig. 10 ); I-Leg-5 dL 205 (196), vL 139 (131), dL/Vl 1.48 (1.49), HB 60 (56), dL/HB 3.4 (3.5), S-1 L 86 (86), L/ W 9.5 (9.5), S-2 L 82 (81), L/ W 6.03 (6.0), distance of sword setae at I-Leg-5 21 (21), L S-1/2 1.05 (1.06); I-Leg-6 L 141 (134), HB 22 (22), L/HB 6.4 (6.1); L I-Leg-5/6 1.45 (1.46).

Discussion. With its combination of a lineated dorsal integument, genital field with relatively small acetabula (diameter <45 μm), a strong sexual dimorphism of P-2, a narrow S-1 and S-2 interspace and thickened I-Leg-6 (I-Leg-6 L/HB <6.0 in male, <6.5 in female), Atractides hyrcaniensis sp. nov. is similar to A. fonticolus ( Viets, 1920) (Western Palaearctic). It differs from A. fonticolus (in parentheses data taken from Gerecke 2003) in the more distant S-1 and -2 (12 μm in male, 13 μm in female), in more slender S-2 of I-Leg- 5 (3.9 in male, 4.3 in female), in distinctly shorter I-Leg-5 and consequently a lower L ratio I-Leg-5/6 of <1.5 (ratio I-Leg-5/6> 1.6). A. hyrcaniensis sp. nov. should be considered a rheophilous species, possibly with a tendency to colonize higher order stream sectors, while A. fonticolus is crenobiont or at least crenophilous (Gerecke 2003).

Etymology. The species is named after ancient Hyrcania (lands south of the Caspian Sea - "Land of the Wolves")

Distribution. Golestan Province (NE Iran).

Figures

FIGURES 6 – 9. Atractides hyrcaniensis sp. nov. (6 – 8 = male, 9 = female): 6 = idiosoma, ventral view; 7 = I-Leg- 5 and - 6; 8 – 9 = palp, medial view. Scale bars = 100 μm.

FIGURES 10 – 11. Atractides hyrcaniensis sp. nov., female: 10 = I-Leg- 5 and - 6; 11 = genital field. Scale bars = 100 μm.