Aculops seguieranae, Lotfollahi, Parisa, Irani-Nejad, Karim Haddad, Khanjani, Mohamad, Moghadam, Mohamad & Lillo, Enrico De, 2012

Lotfollahi, Parisa, Irani-Nejad, Karim Haddad, Khanjani, Mohamad, Moghadam, Mohamad & Lillo, Enrico De, 2012, Two new eriophyoid mite species (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) on Euphorbia spp. (Euphorbiaceae) from Iran, Zootaxa 3556, pp. 55-60 : 59

Aculops seguieranae n. sp.

( Fig. 2 )

Description. FEMALE (n = 10). Body spindle shaped, 165 (149?198), 54 (45?61) thick, 58 (57?62) wide. Gnathosoma 29 (27?30) projecting obliquely downwards, chelicerae 24 (22?25), setae d 10 (8?11), unbranched. Prodorsal shield 30 (28?45) including anteromedian lobe, 44 (44?50) wide, sub-triangular with a relatively largebased anteromedian lobe 6 (6?11), over gnathosomal base. Shield pattern faint and composed of a median line on posterior third, two admedian lines on posterior 2/3 and two short submedian lines on posterior half of prodorsal shield. Tubercles sc on rear shield margin 22 (22?26) apart, setae sc 17 (15?22), directed backwards. Leg I 37 (33?40), femur 9 (7?10), genu 5 (4?6), tibia 7 (7?9), tarsus 8 (6?8), ω 7 (7?8) distally tapered, empodium simple, 7 (6?7), 6-rayed; setae bv 7 (6?13), setae l ′ 21 (16?24), setae l ′ 6 (5?6), setae ft ′ 23 (20?23), setae ft ′ 25 (23?25). Leg II 29 (25?35), femur 7 (7–10), genu 5 (4–5), tibia 6 (5?8), tarsus 8 (5?9), ω 7 (6?9) distally tapered, empodium simple, 6 (5?7), 6-rayed; setae bv 13 (10?15), setae l ′ 11 (10?11), setae ft ′ 8 (7?9), setae ft ′ 22 (21?23). Coxae with granules; setae 1b 10 (10?11), tubercles 1b 8 (8?9) apart, setae 1a 25 (22?35), tubercles 1a 8 (7?8) apart, setae 2a 34 (34?56), tubercles 2a 24 (22?25) apart. Prosternal apodeme 5 (5?6). Opisthosoma dorsally rounded, with 39 (38?42) broad dorsal semiannuli, 63 (58?64) narrow ventral semiannuli (counted from first annulus after coxae II) and 6 (6?7) semiannuli between coxae and coverflap plus three transversal rows of granules at base of coverflap. Microtubercles triangularly shaped and placed on posterior margin of dorsal semiannuli; circular microtubercles located on ventral semiannuli and placed on central part of annuli down towards setae d and on posterior margin of semiannuli from setae d to anal lobes. Setae c2 43 (39?55) on ventral semiannulus 13 (12?13), setae d 66 (60?91) on ventral semiannulus 26 (24?26); setae e 46 (33?57) on ventral semiannulus 41 (37?41); setae f 30 (25?36) on ventral semiannulus 58 (53?59). Last 5 annuli with elongated and linear microtubercles. Setae h2 92 (65?111) very fine at tip, h1 4. Female coverflap 11 (9?14), 22 (22?24) wide, with 13 striae; setae 3a 17 (16?19) apart, 45 (35?60).

MALE (n = 3). Similar to female, 138 (125?150). Prodorsal shield 38 (36?39); setae sc 15 (14?22), 23 (22–23) apart. Opisthosoma with 35?38 dorsal semiannuli and 51?54 ventral semiannuli.

Type host plant. Euphorbia seguierana Necker (Euphorbiaceae) , spurge.

Relation to the host plant. Vagrant on leaves; no apparent damage was observed.

Type locality. Kandovan, Iran, 37°47'31''N, 46°14'57''E, about 2,243 m above sea level; 5 July 2011, coll. P. Lotfollahi.

Type material. Holotype specimen on a single microscope slide (ES-JL11-1); paratypes: 12 specimens mounted on separate microscope slides (9 females and 3 males).

Other localities and host plant. Govgan, Iran, 37°47'12''N, 45°57'03.6''E, 1,347 m above sea level, 2 July 2010, on Euphorbia cheiradenia , coll. P. Lotfollahi.

Other material. Mites preserved in Oudeman’s fluid following extraction from the samples collected in the same localities on the same dates as mentioned above.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the genitive case of the host plant species name, seguierana .

Remarks. The mites (10 females and 3 males) studied from the population collected on E. seguierana showed highly similar morphometric details and variability in respect to the mites (10 females) studied from the population collected on E. cheiradenia .

Differential diagnosis. The new species herein described has many similarities to Aculops montenegrinus (Petanoviċ & de Lillo), which was collected on Euphorbia myrsinites L. in Montenegro (Petanoviċ & de Lillo 1992). Aculops seguieranae sp. n. displays differences in: the prodorsal shield design (characterized by having shorter and fainter admedian lines and a slightly longer median line compared to those observed on A. montenegrinus ); opisthosomal setae d of A. seguieranae sp. n. are 66 (60–91, range of 10 females) compared to a range of 27–65 (10 females) in A. montenegrinus ; 6 rays are present on the empodium of A. seguieranae sp. n. instead of 7 on A. montenegrinus ; 6 (6–7, range of 10 females) semiannuli are visible between the coxae and the genital area of A. seguieranae sp. n. compared to a range of 8–10 (10 females) on A. montenegrinus .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Schematic drawings of Aculops seguieranae n. sp.: AL. Lateral view of anterior body region; AD. Prodorsal shield; CG. Female coxigenital region; em. Empodium; GM. Genital region of male; IG. Internal female genitalia; LO. Lateral view of annuli; L 1. Leg I; PM. Lateral view of posterior opisthosoma. Scale bar: 10 μm for AD, AL, CG, GM, IG, PM; 5 μm for LO, L 1; 2. 5 μm for em.