Linotetranus niknami Bagheri & Haddad

Bagheri, Mohammad, Irani-Nejad, Karim Haddad, Kamali, Karim, Khanjani, Mohammad, Saboori, Alireza & Lotfollahi, Parisa, 2008, A new species of Linotetranus (Acari: Prostigmata: Linotetranidae) from Iran, Zootaxa 1914, pp. 65-68 : 66-67

Linotetranus niknami Bagheri & Haddad sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–8 )

Female (n=3): Measurements of holotype (paratypes in parantheses): Length of body (including gnathosoma) 390 (397, 420), Length of body (excluding gnathosoma) 315 (335, 352), width 142 (145, 150), length of leg I 165 (165, 180), leg II 112 (120, 120), leg III 97 (97, 97), leg IV 97 (97, 97).

Dorsum ( Fig.1 ). Integument reticulate- areolated, mostly covered by elongate elements, but caudal part smooth; body setae linear and mostly setose; prodorsal setae vi (fig. 2) pinnate; length of setae: prodorsal setae vi 15 (15, 15); ve 50 (50, 56); sci 93 (82, 93); sce 105 (105, 102); opisthosomal setae c1 33 (39, 36); c2 90 (102, 99); c3 95 (93, 94); c4 103 (104, 104); d1 56 (57, 51); d2 99 (93, 93); d3 106 (102, 105); e1 16 (15, 15); e2 54 (63, 66); e3 99 (105, 111); e4 68 (66, 75); f1 20 (15, 21); f2 33 (30, 31); f3 153 (170, 170); h1 99 (93, 87); h2 211 (201, 207); h3 86 (81, 84); h4 78 (72, 75).

Venter (fig. 3). The ventral sculpturing consist of elongate ornamentations; intercoxal setae IC2 about three quarters length of IC1; IC3 and IC4 about equal in length and about half length of IC1; pregenital shield more or less trapezoidal, with aggenital setae ag1 on middle part; setae ag2 situated on integument, laterad of genital aperture; three pairs of genital setae (g1- 3) present, g2-3 half length of g1; three pairs of pseudanal setae (ps1-ps3) present, ps2 and ps3 about equal in length and about half length of ps1.

Gnathosoma: Rostrum extending to about proximal half of genu I; palpus (fig. 4) five-segmented, with the following complement of setiform structures: tarsus with 4 eupathidia and 2 setae; tibia with a dorsal claw and 2 setae; genu and femur each with 1 seta, trochanter glabrous.

Legs (figs. 5–8). Setae and solenidia (in parantheses) as follows: coxae 2 + supercoxal seta, e – 1-1-1; trochanters 1- 1-1-0; femora 5-3-2-1; genua 5- 2-1-0; tibiae 5(1)-4-3-4; tarsi 11(2)-7(1)-4-4.

Male and immature stages: Unknown.

Type materials: Holotype female and one of the paratypes from the soil of wheat fields, 14 June 2002, were collected by the senior author and one paratype female from the soil of alfalfa field, 7 June 2004 was collected by P. Lotfollahi, Marand, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran. The holotype and one paratype will be deposited in British Museum, London, United Kingdom and one paratype in the Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Remarks: This species resembles L. amiculus Meyer & Ueckermann, 1997 in that the dorsal integument pattern is mostly reticulated. However, it differs in that the palpgenu bears 1 seta versus without seta on palpgenu in L. amiculus ; tibiae III bears 3 setae versus 4 setae on tibiae III of L. amiculus .

Etymology: This species is named in honour of Dr. Golam-Reza Niknam, the former head of Department of Plant Protection, University of Tabriz, for his kind help in supporting this project.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Linotetranus niknami Bagheri & Haddad, sp. nov. (Female). 1. Dorsal view of idiosoma; 2. Prodorsal seta vi; 3. Ventral view of idiosoma.

FIGURES 4 – 8. Linotetranus niknami Bagheri & Haddad, sp. nov. (Female). 4. Palp; 5. Leg I; 6. Leg II; 7. Leg III; 8. Leg IV.