(Acari: Mesostigmata: Ascidae) from Iran

Biologia 69/3: 350—353, 2014 Section Zoology DOI: 10.2478/s11756-013-0320-1

A new species of the genus Cheiroseius Berlese (Acari: Mesostigmata: Ascidae) from Iran Mahmoud Mehranian Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur Branch, Iran; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: During an exploration of soil mite fauna from Khorasan Razavi province, Cheiroseius samani sp. n. was collected from moist soil and litter in an apple orchard in Neyshabur region, northeastern Iran. Diagnosis, description and illustrations are provided for this species. C. samani sp. n. belongs to the subgenus Posttrematus suggested by Karg (1993), having the peritremes extended behind coxae IV. This species also belongs to the Cheiroseius necorniger-complex Karg (1998), having antero-medial part of sternal shield with two semicircular marks anteriorly, and bearing three pairs of simple setae. Key words: Arachnida; Parasitiformes; biodiversity; soil mites; apple orchard; Iran

Introduction

Description

The genus Cheiroseius is mostly associated with soil, decomposed litter and plant parts. This genus is known to have more than 80 species in the world (Bhattacharyya & Bhattacharyya 2004). The Cheiroseius fauna of Iran is poorly known. Before this work, Jalaeian et al. (2004) and Khademi et al. (2006) recorded C. nepalensis (Evans & Hyatt, 1960) from central parts of Iran. During an exploration of mite fauna from Semnan province by Shamsi et al. (2008), some species of Cheiroseius were collected. Faraji et al. (2008) described C. sistaniensis from provinces of Sistan-Bluchestan and Semnan. Hajizadeh et al. (2009) recorded C. longipes (Willmann, 1951), C. bryophilus (Karg, 1969), C. necorniger (Oudemans, 1903), C. cascadensis (De Leon, 1964), C. curtipes (Halbert, 1923) from Guilan province, northern Iran. This work presents a description and illustrations of a new species of the genus Cheiroseius collected in the Khorasan Razavi province of Iran.

Cheiroseius Berlese, 1916 Cheiroseius samani sp. n.

Material and methods The specimens were collected from moist soil or litter samples in an apple orchards in Neyshabur region, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Samples were extracted by BerleseTullgren apparatus and mites were cleared in lactophenol. After mounting using Hoyer’s medium on microscope slides, mites were examined microscopically using a phase contrast microscopic. Legs were measured from the base of coxae and setae from the base of insertion to tip. All measurements are of the holotype female and given in micrometers (µm). Notations for dorsal idiosoma and ventral setation follow Lindquist & Evans (1965) and Lindquist (1994), respectively. Leg setal notation and chaetotactic formulae are based on Evans (1963).

Holotype: Female. Idiosoma dorsal (Fig. 1). Dorsal shield centrally covered with a net pattern of irregular slight ridges and laterally and posteriorly covered by a net pattern of depressions and ridges, especially in lateral section covered by strong ridges. Dorsal shield, 710 long, 410 wide at the level of setae j6, oval, darkbrown, with 36 pairs of dorsal setae, anterior part with 21 pairs and posterior part with 15 pairs of setae; all dorsal setae simple except Z5 curved; j1 = 24, j2 = 30, j3 = 44, j4-j6 = 28, z1 = 15, z2-z5 = 45 slender; s1-s2 = 28, s3-s6 = 44, r1-r2 = 28 on humeral region of shield, moderately short and simple, r3-r4 = 60 on lateral soft cuticle, in posterior part, J1 = J2 = 26, J3 = J4= 64, J5 = 16, Z3 = Z4 = 56, Z5 = 65, all setae attenuate and smooth. Idiosoma ventral (Fig. 2). Tritosternum 120, with slender base, pilose with long pile, sternal shield faintly punctate, 134 long along midline, 245 wide between two anterolateral corners and 128 wide at ST2 setae, with 3 pairs of sternal setae ST1 = ST2 = 18, ST3 = 28, and two pairs of lyrifissures; anterior part of sternal shield bearing two arch-like mark and with prominent anterolateral corners between coxae I and II, but separated from endopodal strips between coxae II and III and scarcely widened at that level, second pair of poroids situated on posterolateral edges of shield; metasternal platelets 30 long bearing seta ST4 (30) slightly shorter than ST3 (33 ) and a pore; Pair of thin endopodal strips alongside coxae III–IV continuous anteriorly with those projecting between coxae II–III; genital shield faintly punctate with a pair of simple setae, ST5 (23); genital

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Figs 1, 2. Cheiroseius samani sp. n. (holotype female). 1: Dorsal view of idiosoma; 2: Ventral view of idiosoma.

shield 185 long along midline, 100 wide between two anterolateral corners, 120 wide along posterior part; paragenital pores on soft cuticle between setae ST5 and posterior part of peritremal plate; JV1 = 18; ventrianal shield pentagonal and reticulated over nearly entire surface, without punctuate areas, 166 long along midline, 204 wide along widest areas, 102 wide along anterior of ventrianal shield, with 3 pairs of opisthogastric setae (JV2, JV3, ZV2) in addition to 3 circumanal setae, all simple, seta JV2 the longest (45) and seta ZV2 (28) long, paraanal setae (60), clearly longer than post-anal seta (30), posterior to anus; seven pairs of opisthogastric setae on soft cuticle flanking ventrianal shield, JV1, ZV1 anteriorly and JV4–JV5, ZV3– ZV5 laterally; metapodal platelets wider than long, 24 long and 12 wide; anterior half of peritremal shield relatively narrow and extends anteriorly to level of setae j1, peritrematal-exopodal shield with one or two lines extending from stigma to broadly rounded posterior margin and a narrow strips curved around coxa IV. Gnathosoma. Tectum (Fig. 4B) with 3 bifid prongs, the middle branch of the tectum 20 long and bearing 5 teeth and cup form, lateral branches furcated and 19 long, hypostome with six wide rows of hypognathal denticles each bearing 3–15 teeth (Fig. 3) capitular seta 36, internal posterior rostral seta 56, and rostral seta 68, external posterior rostral seta 34, all simple but rostral seta whip-like; corniculus horn-like, internal malae finely fringed (40) and semi serrata. Chelicerae 290 long, fixed digit of chelicerae with an apical hook and

with shorter pilus dentilis; movable digit 76 long with 2 weakly developed teeth in apposition to denticulate ridge of fixed digit (Fig. 4A). Internal palp-trochanter seta 75 elongated, whip–like, extends nearly to middle of palp-genu; external palp-trochanter seta short 30 and simple. Spermathecal apparatus (Fig. 5) with a short sclerotized major duct leads to a unsclerotized, shallowly cup-shaped structure with a convoluted minor duct. Legs. Leg I equal or shorter than idiosoma700, tarsus I excluding pretarsus 168, longer than tibia I 121; leg IV elongated 790, longer than dorsal shield; setae on tarsus I slender and smooth (Fig. 6), most basal dorsal setae 15–20, more attenuated and slightly longer than mid-dorsal setae, and one apical moderately elongated pseudosymmetric pair 50–55, several other subapical ones 40–45, specialized subapical sigmoid seta moderately elongate; pretarsus of leg I short 15–20, pretarsi of legs II, III 42 and leg IV longer 46, claws well developed (length 14–18), nearly as large as those on tarsus II and IV 15, though smaller than those on leg III 30–35, claws flanked by flagellate paradactyli 55–58; tarsi II– III with apical setal processes ad-1, pd-1 elongated 53– 60, whip-like not inflated basally; telotarsus II (Fig. 7) with generically typical, elongate-flagellate seta ad-3 (70), pl-2 (80) and flagellate seta al-2 (90), and telotarsus III (Fig. 8B) with typically elongate-flagellate setae al-2 (67), pd-2 (70) and pd-3 (80); telotarsus IV (165) (Fig. 8A) with setae al-2 (97) and pd-2 (80), longer than basitarsus; basitarsus IV (44) longer than basitarsi II,

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Figs 3–8. Cheiroseius samani sp. n. (holotype female). 3: Ventral view of gnathosoma; 4: A – Chelicera, B – Tectum; 5: Spermathecal apparatus; 6: Tarsus I; 7: Tarsus II; 8: A – Tarsus IV, B – tarsus III.

III (35); setal formula of femora of legs I–IV, respectively, 11-10-6-6; that of genua, 12-10-8-9; that of tibiae, 13-10-8-10; tarsus I = 194, tibia I = 121, genu I = 90, femur I = 120, trochanter I = 56, coxa I = 85; tarsus II = 190, tibia II = 45, genu II = 44, femur II = 115, trochanter II = 72, coxa II = 72; tarsus III = 190,tibia III = 40, genu III = 42, femur III = 104, trochanter III = 79, coxa III = 67; tarsus IV =270, tibia IV = 85, genu IV = 71, femur IV = 150, trochanter IV = 63, coxa IV = 70. Material examined. Holotype: female, northeast Iran, Khorasan Razavi province, Neyshabur (35◦ 50 N, 58◦ 20 E), in soil (apple orchard), November 2009 (deposited in the Canadian National Collection of Insects & Arachnids, Ottawa). Paratype: female, same collection data as holotype (deposited in the animal museum of Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur Branch).

Etymology. This species is named after Mr. Saman Mehranian who collected the field samples. Remarks. This species resembles those of Cheiroseius necorniger-complex, Karg (1998) in having antero-

medial part of sternal shield with two semicircular marks anteriorly, and bearing three pairs of simple setae. In further this species is closely similar to C. necorniger (Oudemans, 1903) in having peritremes that extend anteriorly to a level between the bases of setae j1 and z1, and rostral and internal palptrochanter setae long, whip-like, tarsus I longer than tibia I. This species differs from C. necorniger in form and size of ventrianal shield, present of four small sclerotized plates between the genital and ventrianal shields, the length and chaetotaxy of legs. In Cheiroseius necorniger the length of ventrianal shield is equal to the width and round (162 long, 177 wide), dorsal setae are medium, j1 longer than distance j1–j2 and between the genital and ventrianal shields lie four small sclerotized plates while in C. samani ventrianal shield is angular and distinctly wider than long, the length of ventrianal shield is 4/5 as the width (204) and dorsal setae are short, J1 = 1/2 distance J1–J2 (25) and without any sclerotized plates between the genital and ventrianal shields. It further differs from C. necorniger in leg I distinctly longer than the length of idiosoma, while in this species leg I is shorter than the idiosoma or equal in length (610). Also


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this species is distinguished in having the telotarsus of leg II with elongate-flagellate seta ad-3, pl-2 and flagellate seta al-2 clearly longer than tibia, the telotarsus of leg III with typically elongate-flagellate setae al-2, pd-2 and pd-3 clearly (2.8–3.3) longer than other setae on this leg and the telotarsus of IV with setae al-2 slightly longer than distance from its insertion to base of pretarsus. In C. squamosus (Karg, 1977) the length of idiosoma is 640 and the length of tarsus I is twice as the length of tibia I while in C. samani the length of idiosoma is 700 and the length of tarsus I to the length of tibia I is (1.6). In C. signatus (Evans & Hyatt, 1960) setae Z5 is short, Idiosoma = 581 in C. cascadensis (De Leon, 1964) J2 extending to J3, J3 projection beyond J4 and Idiosoma = 606, in C. creber (Karg, 1977) Z5 = 35 distinctly longer than other dorsal setae, J1, J2 and J3 are short, while in C. samani setae Z5 is long (65), Idiosoma = 700, J2 doesn’t extend to J3, J3 is near J4. In C. changlingensis (Ma, 2000) and C. angustiperitrematus (Ma, 2000) Length of idiosoma is 396 and 483 respectively, in the first species j5 reaching base of j6 and in the latter species one pair of setae between genital and ventrianal shields keep close to anterior margin of ventrianal shield, while in C. samani j5 not reaching to base of j6, one pair of setae between genital and ventrianal shields keep close to posterior margin of genital shield, furthermore tarsus I is longer than tibia I, therefore this species differs from all species of C. necornigercomplex that tarsus I is shorter than tibia I. Acknowledgements We wish to thank Dr. Evert E. Lindquist, Honorary Research Associate Invertebrate Biodiversity & Environmental Health Program – Acarology Unit Research Branch, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada for commenting and Dr. F. Faraji, Mitox Consultant, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for helping on this work. References Bhattacharyya A.K. & Bhattacharyya S.K. 2004. Two new species of the genus Cheiroseius Berlese, 1916 (Ascidae: Mesostigmata) from the Indian Thar Desert. Zootaxa 403: 1–11. De Leon D. 1964. A new genus and twelve new species of mites from Mexico and Southeast United States (Acarina: Blattisocidae). Florida Entomol. 46 (2): 197–207. Evans G.O. 1963. Observation on the chaetotaxy of legs in the free-living Gamasina (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. 10: 275–303. Evans G.O. & Hyatt K.H. 1960. A revision of the Platyseiinae (Mesostigmata: Aceosejidae) based on material in the collections of the British Museum (Natural History). Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. 6 (2): 27–101.

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Received August 13, 2012 Accepted November 25, 2013