Pachyseius persicus Babaeian & Mašán, 2016

Babaeian, Esmaeil, Mašán, Peter & Saboori, Alireza, 2016, The genus Pachyseius Berlese, 1910 in Iran (Acari: Pachylaelapidae), Zootaxa 4088 (3), pp. 420-428 : 421-423

Pachyseius persicus Babaeian & Mašán sp. nov.

( Figs 1–11 )

Specimens examined. Holotype (ARS-20151029-1a): female, Iran, Mazandaran Province, Nowshahr City, Koliak Village, 36˚29' N, 51˚37' E, altitude 1,215 m, September 27, 2015, E. Babaeian coll., in leaf litter and soil detritus. Paratypes: seven females, same data as holotype. The type material is deposited in the Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran (holotype and three paratypes), the Acarological Collection, Acarological Society of Iran, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran (two paratypes), and Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia (two paratype).

Diagnosis (female). Dorsal shield with 30 pairs of needle-like setae and delicate punctate-reticulate sculpture. Presternal area unsclerotised, without scutal structures. Sternal shield with coarse punctate-reticulate pattern on entire surface. Metasternal shields free, closely adjacent to posterolateral corners of sternal shield. Exopodal shields II–III free, placed between mediolateral corners of sternal shield and inner margins of peritrematal shields; exopodal shields III–IV fused to peritrematal shields. Post-stigmatic sections of peritrematal shields (excluding parapodal portions) terminally rounded, reaching beyond coxae IV, and bearing four pairs of pore-like structures (including two pairs of glands and two pairs lyrifissures); all pore-like structures normal in size and form, not hypertrophied. Ventrianal shield widest in its middle portion, bearing four pairs of pre-anal setae, and punctatereticulate pattern with additional punctation on cell areas. Soft membranous integument between posterior margins of peritrematal shields and anterolateral margins of ventrianal shield with one pair of larger suboval platelets and one pair of smaller elongate platelets. Lateral and opisthogastric soft integument with 11 pairs of setae. Trochanter I with five setae. Tarsus II with three enlarged and spur-like setae. Tarsus IV with 17 setae.

Description (female). Dorsal idiosoma ( Fig. 1 ). Dorsal shield entire, suboval, elongated, 535–575 µm in length and 280–305 µm in width, with regular punctate-reticulate pattern on almost entire surface, and 30 pairs of smooth and needle-like setae; podonotal region of the shield with 18 pairs of setae (j1–j6, z1, z2, z4–z6, s2, s4–s6, r2, r3, r5) and eight pairs of pore-like structures, and opisthonotal region with 12 pairs of setae (J1–J5, Z1–Z3, S1, S3–S5) and 13 pairs of pore-like structures; measurements of selected setae: j1 10–12 µm, z1 7–8 µm, J5 25–27 µm, S5 26 µm; all pore-like structures unmodified, normal in size and form.

Ventral idiosoma ( Fig. 5 ). Tritosternal base narrow, 20–25 µm long, with two free pilose laciniae; the laciniae 78–80 µm in length. Presternal shields absent. Sternal shield ( Fig. 8 ) relatively large, oblong, 134–144 µm long and 101–104 µm wide at the level of the insertions of sternal setae st2, concave on anterior margin, truncate or slightly concave on medial posterior margin, with elongate anterolateral and mediolateral corners, coarse punctatereticulate pattern on entire surface, three pairs of sternal setae and two pairs of lyrifissures; measurements of sternal setae: st1 27 µm, st2 30–32 µm, and st3 26–27 µm. Metasternal shields suboval, each bearing a metasternal seta and adjacent lyrifissure; metasternal setae st4 markedly shorter than those on sternal shield, 16 µm long. Endopodal shields III–IV relatively well developed and sclerotised. Epigynal shield ( Fig. 9 ) relatively smaller, 106–140 µm long and 77–84 µm wide at the level of genital setae, subquadrate to tongue-shaped, with hyaline anterior margin reaching to or beyond posterior margin of sternal shield, almost straight posterior margin, a pair of genital setae (st5 20–24 µm long), and coarse punctate-reticulate sculpture; a pair of elongated postgenital sclerites present on posterior margin of the shield; genital pores situated on soft integument outside posterolateral corners of shield.

Exopodal shields between coxae II and III separate, free from adjacent scutal structures, subtriangular and closely adjacent to inner margins of peritrematal shields and mediolateral corners of sternal shield. Exopodal shields between coxae III and IV and parapodal plates completely incorporated into posterior sections of peritrematal shields. Peritrematal shields developed along whole length of peritreme, anterior section fused to dorsal shield, posterior section reaching slightly beyond posterior margin of coxae IV, bearing seven pairs of small pore-like structures: one pair each on anterior surfaces, peritremes and parapodal plates, and four pairs on post-stigmatic surfaces (greatly enlarged cavity-like poroid close to stigma absent); the shields mostly smooth on surface, except weak and longitudinally oriented sculptural line at the level of exopodal shields II–III, and a curved line around outer margin of coxae IV; post-stigmatic portion slightly narrowed posteriorly and rounded terminally; peritremes normal, with anterior tip reaching marginal dorsal surface close to setae z1 ( Fig. 2 ). Ventrianal shield ( Fig. 10 ) relatively large, slightly longer than wide (228–245 µm long, 210–223 µm wide), oval, slightly concave on anterior margin, rounded posteriorly, widest at the level of middle portion, bearing polygonal cells of punctate-reticulate pattern on entire surface, four pairs of pre-anal setae (JV1–JV3, ZV2), and three circum-anal setae close to suboval anus; para-anal setae slightly shorter than postanal seta (pa 21–29 µm, po 32–35 µm); adanal gland pores placed on posterolateral edges of the shield; cribrum normally developed. Area between ventrianal shield and peritrematal shields with two pairs of minute suboval platelets. Metapodal region with a pair of narrow, conspicuously elongated and longitudinally oriented shields; the shields relatively well separated from anterolateral margins of ventrianal shield. Lateral and opisthogastric soft integument with 11 pairs of setae (six pairs of marginal setae, and five pairs of ventral setae), and five pairs of lyrifissures. All ventrally inserted setae needle-like, similar to those on dorsal shield.

Gnathosoma ( Figs 3, 4 , 6 , and 11). Corniculi slender and horn-like; deutosternal groove with five transverse rows of fine denticles and two smooth transverse lines; internal malae narrow, pointed, reaching slightly beyond corniculi; gnathosomal setae smooth and needle-like, attenuate distally ( Fig. 4 ), with the following lengths: h1 20– 22 µm, h2 10–14 µm, h3 44–46 µm, and pc 12–15 µm. Palptibia without outgrowths, palptarsus with three-tined apotele. Epistome generally convex, with anterior margin truncate or slightly concave medially, and irregularly indented ( Fig. 3 ). Cheliceral digits normal for the genus, slender and subequal in length; movable digit 45–50 µm long, with two subdistal teeth and a terminal hook; fixed digit 50–52 µm long (from tip to the base of movable digit), edentate and terminally with minute bidentate hook; pilus dentilis setiform and minute; arthrodial brush short ( Figs 6 , and 11).

Legs ( Fig. 7 ). Setation of legs I–IV as follows: coxae 2, 2, 2, 1; trochanters 5, 5, 5, 5; femora 12 (2 3/2 2/1 2), 11 (2 3/1 2/2 1), 6 (1 2/1 1/0 1), 6 (1 2/1 1/0 1); genua 12 (2 3/2 2/1 2), 11 (2 3/1 2/2 1), 8 (2 2/1 2/0 1), 8 (2 2/0 2/1 1); tibiae 12 (2 3/2 2/1 2), 10 (2 3/1 2/1 1), 7 (1 1/1 2/1 1), 7 (1 1/1 2/1 1). Tarsi II and III each with 18 setae (3 7/5 3), tarsus IV with 17 setae (seta ad2 absent); tarsus II with three spur-like setae ( Fig. 7 ). Leg lengths: legs I 384– 401 μm, legs II 354–374 μm, legs III 260–285 μm, and legs IV 312–327 μm.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin name of Iran, where the type specimens were collected.

Remarks. Pachyseius persicus is most similar morphologically to Pachyseius quadrigeminus Özbek & Halliday, 2015 , especially on the basis of the ventrianal shield setation (four pairs of pre-anal setae present), and the shape and arrangement of the ventral shields (presternal shields absent; sternal shield oblong, with well developed intercoxal projections; smaller epigynal shield contiguous to anterior medial concavity of ovoid ventrianal shield; exopodal shields III–IV fused to peritrematal shields; soft integument between ventrianal shield and peritrematal shields with two pairs of minute platelets (Özbek & Halliday, 2015). These very similar species can be distinguished by the following character states: (1) number of setae on soft integument (11 pairs in P. persicus , seven pairs in P. quadrigeminus ), (2) number of setae on trochanter I (five in P. persicus , six in P. quadrigeminus ), (3) number of setae on tarsus IV (17 in P. persicus , 18 in P. quadrigeminus ), (4) character of exopodal shields II–III (separate in P. persicus , fused to peritrematal shields in P. quadrigeminus ), (5) character of punctate-reticulate sculpture on sternal shield (coarse on entire area in P. persicus , delicate in central area in P. quadrigeminus ), (6) number of pore-like structures on post-stigmatic section of peritrematal shields (four in P. persicus , two in P. quadrigeminus ), (7) placement of metapodal shields (well separated from ventrianal shield in P. persicus , adjacent to the shield in P. quadrigeminus ), (8) length of dorsal shield (535–575 μm in P. persicus , 600–676 μm in P. quadrigeminus ), (9) length of idiosomal setae (shorter in P. persicus : j1 10–12 μm, J5 25–27 μm, st4 16 μm, pa 21–29 μm, po 32–35 μm; longer in P. quadrigeminus : j1 15–20 μm, J5 30–40 μm, st4 20–25 μm, pa 30–35 μm, po 40–46 μm), (10) number of spur-like setae on tarsus II (three in P. persicus , two in P. quadrigeminus ).

Comments on Pachyseius species reported from Iran. Specimens of Pachyseius spp. were reported from Iran by Nejadghanbar et al. (2011) and Rahmani & Zare (2011), but these have not yet been identified. Two identified Pachyseius species have been reported from Iran, as discussed below. The Iranian specimens of both of these species have characteristics which do not coincide exactly with the descriptions provided by the original authors, they and should be considered as a misidentification.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Pachyseius persicus Babaeian & Mašán sp. nov., female. 1. Dorsal shield; 2. Anterior portion of dorsal shield; 3. Epistome; 4. Hypostome.

FIGURES 5 – 7. Pachyseius persicus Babaeian & Mašán sp. nov., female. 5. Ventral shield; 6. Chelicera; 7. Tarsus II (right side).

FIGURES 8 – 11. Pachyseius persicus Babaeian & Mašán sp. nov., female. 8. Sternal shield ornamentation; 9. Epigynal shield; 10. Ventri-anal shield; 11. Chelicera. Not scaled.