Atractides himachali, Pesic, Vladimir & Panesar, Arne, 2009

Pesic, Vladimir & Panesar, Arne, 2009, Studies on water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from the Himalayas, II. New records and descriptions of seven new species from India, Zootaxa 2119, pp. 1-22 : 8-9

Atractides himachali sp. nov.

( Figs. 5A–D )

Type material. Holotype: male, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid; India: Himachal Pradesh State, Lahaul, 13 km north of Keylong, spring and springbrook, 23.vii.1990, 3300m asl., leg. Schwoerbel & Panesar.

Diagnosis. Dorsal integument: lineated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized; medial suture Cx-1+2 relatively long; genital field: Ac in an obtuse triangle; P-2 and -3 with ventral protrusions; I-Leg: I-Leg-5 thickened (L/HB 2.03), S-1 and –2 narrow interspace, S-1 with truncate tip, S-2 shortened, with a blunt tip.

Description. Male: Dorsally the integument is lineated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field: Cx-1+2 W 291, Cx-1+2 mL 131; lL Cx-1+2 252. Palp ( Fig. 5B ): palp total L 302, dL and %L (in parentheses): P-1 29 (9.6), P-2 74 (24.5), P-3 70 (23.2), P-4 96 (31.8), P-5 33 (10.9); L P-2/P-4 0.77; ventral margin P-2 with lamellar extension strongly protruding in the distal third, P-3 with similar protuberance distally of the segment, P-4 sword seta inserted halfway between ventral hairs. Genital field ( Fig. 5C ): anterior margin straight, L/W 150/166, Ac in an obtuse triangle, L Ac-1-3: 59-66-63; excretory pore smooth; Vgl-1: separate from Vgl-2.

I-Leg ( Fig. 5D ): S-1 and -2 with narrow interspace, S-1 with truncate tip, S-2 shortened, with blunt tip; I- Leg-6 curved; I-Leg-5 dL 197, I-L-5 vL 138, dL/vL 1.43, HB 68, L/HB 2.9; S-1 L 97, L/ W 10.7, S-2 L 88, L/ W 7.3, distance of sword setae at I-Leg-5 16; L ratio S-1/2 1.1; I-Leg-6 L 129, HB 21, L/HB 6.1; L I-Leg-5/6 1.53.

Female: unknown.

Discussion. Atractides himachali sp. nov. shares the combination of a lineated integument and ventral protrusion on P-3, with A. inflatus ( Walter, 1925), a rhitrobiontic species, known from the Mediterranean and Iran ( Pesic et al. 2004). Compared to A. inflatus (in parentheses data taken from Gerecke 2003 and Pesic et al. 2004), A. himachali sp. nov. is characterized by the following: a longer medial suture Cx-1+2 (mL <100 µm), Ac in an obtuse triangle (in curved line), a triangular Ac-3 (Ac-3 more or less roundish), a stouter I-Leg-5 (dL/ HB 3.41–3.61), a longer setae S-1 and -2 (L S-1 <80µm, S-1 <60µm) and S-1 at the tip truncated (S-1 not truncated distally).

Etymology. The species is named after the state Himachal Pradesh where it was collected.

Habitat. Discovered in a mountain spring and springbrook.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in the western Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh).

Figures

FIGURE 5 A – D. Atractides himachali sp. nov., male: A = coxal field; B = palp, medial view; C = genital field; D = I- Leg- 5 and - 6. Scale bars = 100 µm