Aegyptobia insularis Stathakis & Vrettos, 2023

Stathakis, Theodoros I., Vrettos, Dimitrios P., Panou, Eleni N. & Kapaxidi, Eleftheria V., 2023, New recordsof falsespider mites (Acari: Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) in Greece, Zootaxa 5230 (4), pp. 456-466 : 457-460

Aegyptobia insularis Stathakis & Vrettos sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–3 )

Type material. Holotype (female) and 5 female paratypes ex Phagnalon rupestre ssp. graecum (Boiss. & Heldr.) Batt. (Asteraceae) , Greece, Kea Island, Fouski (37°34′33.4″N, 24°18′21.6″E), 19 January 2020, coll. D.P. Vrettos; 3 female paratypes ex P. graecum , Greece, Kea Island , Dosonari (37°39′01.7″N, 24°21′06.1″E), 8 February 2020, coll. D.P. Vrettos.

Diagnosis. Tarsal claws uncinate ( tragardhi species group). Anterior margin of prodorsum rounded. Prodorsal and opisthosomal shields weakly defined, smooth, with 3 pairs of pore-like structures. All dorsal setae long, thickened, and serrate. Striae between setae 3a and 4a forming a rectangular pattern with concave margins. Genital plate smooth. Rostrum extending to midlength of tibia I. Palpal setal formula (trochanter–tarsus): 0–1–0–2–3(1). Setation of legs I–IV: trochanters 1–1–2–1; femora 4–4–2–1; genua 3–3–1–0; tibiae 4–4–3–3; tarsi 9(1)–9(1)–5–5. Dorsal setae on femora and genua of all legs lanceolate serrate.

Description. FEMALE (n = 9). Dorsum ( Figs 1A , 3A ). Body size measurements: distance between setae v 2 – h 1 215 (210–220); sc 2 – sc 2 120 (120); other measurements: v 2 – v 2 40 (36–42), sc 1 – sc 1 91 (83–89), c 1 – c 1 57 (50–51), c 2 – c 2 115 (110–120), c 3 – c 3 145 (140–150), d 1 – d 1 42 (40–42), d 2 – d 2 105 (100–110), d 3 – d 3 145 (140–150), e 1 – e 1 40 (34–40), e 2 – e 2 105 (97–100), e 3 – e 3 110 (105 – 115), f 2 – f 2 73 (71 – 77), f 3 – f 3 85 (85 – 89), h 1 – h 1 26 (26 – 34), h 2 – h 2 51 (50 – 53). Anterior margin of prodorsum rounded. Prodorsal shield weakly defined, smooth. Opisthosomal shield weakly defined, smooth, with few irregular wrinkles and 3 pairs of pore-like structures (between setae c 3 – d 3, d 3 – e 2 and e 2 – e 3). Cuticle laterad to shields smooth, posterolateral margin of body smooth, almost straight. All dorsal setae long, thickened, and serrate ( Fig. 1B ). Length of seate: v 2 42 (38 – 40), sc 1 46 (42 – 48), sc 2 46 (40 – 50), c 1 42 (40 – 44), c 2 38 (38 – 42), c 3 42 (36 – 44), d 1 40 (40 – 46), d 2 44 (40 – 44), d 3 46 (40 – 44), e 1 40 (36 – 40), e 2 40 (40 – 42), e 3 40 (42 – 46), f 2 42 (40 – 42), f 3 40 (40 – 46), h 1 40 (32 – 38), h 2 40 (38 – 40).

Venter ( Fig. 1C ). Cuticle with broad transverse striae between setae 1a and 3a and between 4a and ag; striae between setae3a and 4a forming a rectangular pattern with concave margins( Fig.3B );pregenital area with longitudinal striae. Genital setae inserted along posterior margin of weakly developed, smooth genital plate. Pseudanal setae ps 1 – 3 inserted on well-defined anal plates. Coxal setae fine, smooth, except 2c slightly barbed; setae ag, g 1 – 2, ps 1 – 3 barbed. Setal measurements: 1a 65 (65 – 77), 1b 35 (33 – 39), 1c 9 (12–15), 2b 31 (23 – 31), 2c 31 (27–35), 3a 25 (23–31), 3b 21 (23–27), 4a 35 (27–39), 4b 23 (23), ag 27 (19–27), g 1 22 (16–22), g 2 14 (12–15), ps 1 16 (14–17), ps 2 12 (11–15), ps 3 7 (5–8). Spermathecal duct narrow, convoluted. Spermathecal vesicle trilobed, 4 long ( Fig. 1D ).

Gnathosoma ( Figs 1E , 3C ). Rostrum extending to midlength of tibia I. Subcapitular setae m 13 (13–17) long. Palps 5-segmented 34 (30–36) in length. Setal formula 0-1-0-2-3(1); solenidion ω 5 (5–6) long.

Legs ( Figs 2A–C ). Setal formula of legs I–IV (coxae to tarsi) corresponding to standard set of the genus: 2-1- 4-3-4-9(1), 2-1-4-3-4-9(1), 1-2-2-1-3-5, 1-1-1-0-3-5, respectively. Tarsi I, II, each with one thin abaxial solenidion, ω′′I 8 (8–9), and ω′′II 8 (8–9) long. Dorsal setae (d) on femora and genua thickened and serrate.

MALE and IMMATURES. Unknown.

Etymology. The name of this new species ( insularis ) is a Latin adjective meaning “of or pertaining to an island” due to the discovery of this species on a Greek island.

Remarks. Among the 104 valid Aegyptobia species, A. insularis Stathakis & Vrettos sp. nov. is closely related to A. anvillea Kamran & Alatawi, 2017 , A. kermaniensis Farzan, 2015 and A. lippii Kamran & Alatawi, 2017 in having dorsal setae thickened and serrate and the anterior margin of prodorsum rounded. Aegyptobia insularis is easily distinguished from these species by the smooth surface of dorsal shields (vs with distinctly striated sculpturing on dorsal shields in compared species), and by the greater length of hysterosomal setae of d -, e -, f - and h -series (32 – 46 in A. insularis sp. nov. (vs 15 – 23 in A. anvillea , 16 – 23 in A. kermaniensis and 20 – 36 in A. lippii ) ( Farzan & Asadi 2015; Kamran et al. 2017). Additionally, this is the first record of a flat mite on a host plant genus Phagnalon ( Castro et al. 2022) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aegyptobia insularis Stathakis & Vrettos sp. nov., female. A—dorsal view, B—idiosomal setae, C—ventral view, D—spermatheca, E—palp. Scale bars: 30 μm (A, C), 20 μm (B, D, E).

FIGURE 2. Aegyptobia insularis Stathakis & Vrettos sp. nov., female. A—leg I, B—leg II, C—leg III, D—leg IV. Scale bar: 20 μm.

FIGURE 3. Aegyptobia insularis Stathakis & Vrettos sp. nov., female. A—dorsal view, B—intercoxal region III-IV, C— gnathosoma. Scale bars: 50 μm (A, C), 30 μm (B).