Aetacarus elanoides Proctor & Zimmerman, 2006

Proctor, Heather, Zimmerman, Gina & Meyer, Kenneth, 2006, A study of the SNARE protein syntaxin 16 and its role in the intracellular trafficking of glucose transporter GLUT 4 in 3 T 3 - L 1 adipocytes, Zootaxa 1252, pp. 37-47 : 40-45

Aetacarus elanoides Proctor & Zimmerman sp. n. ( Figs. 1–4)

Type material

All material was collected by G. Zimmerman. Male holotype ex Elanoides forficatus forficatus (Linnaeus, 1758) code STKI 0201 , Levy County, Florida, ­82° 52’57” x 29º 15’21”, U.S. A, 13 May 2002; 1 male, 1 female paratype same data as holotype; 3 male, 2 female paratypes ex E. f. forficatus code STKI 0314 , Long County, Georgia, ­81º 41’33” x 31º 38’21”, U.S.A., 24 June 2003; 1 male paratype ex. E. f. forficatus code STKI 0214 , Camden County, ­81º 46’37” x 31º 5’6”, Georgia, U.S.A., 19 June 2002; 2 female paratypes ex. E. f. forficatus code STKI 0215 , Camden County, Georgia, ­81º 46’37” x 31º 5’6”, U.S.A., 19 June 2002; 1 female paratype ex E. f. forficatus code STKI 0313 , Brantley County, Georgia, ­81º 53’57” x 31º 19’12”, U.S.A., 20 June 2003; 1 female paratype ex E. f. forficatus code STKI 0315 , Long County, Georgia, ­81º 39’51” x 31º 34’42”, U.S.A., 25 June 2003. Holotype male, 2 male and 3 female paratypes deposited in the E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum , Department of Biological Sciences , University of Alberta, Canada. Other paratypes will be deposited in the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor , U.S.A. (2 males and 2 females), and the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (1 male and 1 female) .

Additional material examined

Six male, 4 female and 2 nymphal specimens ex E. f. forficatus codes STKI 0208 , 0209 , 0501 , 0507 , Levy County, Florida, U.S.A., May & June 2002, June 2005, coll. G. Zimmerman in collection of the Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, U.S.A. (1 male and 1 female) and H. Proctor (the remainder of the material) .

ZOOTAXA 1252

ia = cupule, tm = terminal membrane.

Description

Male (holotype). Idiosoma length from anterior end of prodorsal shield to lobar apices 445 (430–445); greatest width 220 (220–250). Length of palps 25 (23–25). Prodorsal shield encompasses and extends posterior to bases of setae se and si; greatest length of prodorsal shield 100 (95–100), greatest width 140 (140–155); distance between prodorsal setae vi and vi 20 (18–20), si and si 25 (25–29), se and se 43 (43–59). Length of vi 40 (34– 48); si relatively thick and rigid, length 28 (25–30); length of se 188 (163–190). Large unsclerotized sejugal space with plicate integument. Length of hysteronotal shield from anterior margin to lobar apices 310 (310–325), width at anterior margin 175 (175–190), dorsal surface with median sulcus and strong pattern of horizontally running reticulations best seen in SEM images ( Fig. 3 ). Median terminal triangular area of hysteronotal shield poorly sclerotized. Strongly developed terminal lobes. Dorsal setae c2 acuminate, length 28 (25–33); c3 lanceolate, length 35 (30–38); d1, d2, e1 fine, hair­like with d2 approximately twice length of d1, e1; e2 knife­shaped with blunt tip, length 43 (38–43); h1 slightly spatulate, shaped like ‘butter­knife’ ( Fig. 1), length 25 (21–25). Setae f2 knife­shaped to slightly falcate. Terminal membrane (tm) short, broadly adherent to terminal lobe between bases of setae h3 and ps1, in most specimens wider at base than long, width 10 (8–13), length 8 (6–13). Genital apparatus short, thick and blunt, slightly expanded tip ( Fig. 4 a, b ), length 25 (23–33), width at base 23 (20–23). Ventral setae 3b slightly anterior to setae 3a and g; vertical distance between levels of rows 3b and 3a 10 (8–10), 3a and g 8 (6–13), and g and 4a 110 (103–118). Genital papillae located posterior to setae g, distance between g and most anterior genital papilla 28 (25–30). Length of tarsus I 50 (45–50), tarsus II 55 (55–58), tarsus III 50 (50–58), tarsus IV 55 (55–61). Seta d (?) of tarsus IV as spine­like microchaeta in mesal part of tarsus ( Fig. 4c , arrow).

Female (paratype). Idiosoma length from anterior end of prodorsal shield to opisthosomal terminus 615 (575–615); greatest width 320 (280–325). Length of palps 30 (25– 33). Prodorsal shield encompasses and extends posterior to bases of setae se and si; greatest length of prodorsal shield 125 (118–130), greatest width 195 (185–208); distance between prodorsal setae vi and vi 28 (25–28), si and si 35 (33–35), se and se 75 (75–83). Length of vi 55 (48–55); si relatively thick and rigid, length 45 (39–50); length of se 233 (188–233). Large unsclerotized sejugal space with plicate integument. Setae c1 and c 2 in sejugal space ( Fig. 2a ). Length of hysteronotal shield from anterior margin to level of setae h1 305 (300–340), width at anterior margin 245 (220–245); mid­dorsal surface with pattern of horizontally running reticulations best seen in SEM image ( Fig. 3 ); posterior part with an irregular lacuna of unsclerotized integument containing setae h1; other posterior dorsal setae situated on a pair of terminal plates. No obvious external spermaduct. Dorsal setae c2 lanceolate, length 45 (45–55); c3 lanceolate, length 38 (28–40); c1, d1, e1 fine, hair­like with d2 setiform and at least twice length of c1, d1, e1; e2 spoon­shaped with slightly extended, curved tip (= spatulate­mucronate) ( Figs. 2a , 4d ), length 30 (28–30), width at widest point 10 (8–13); h1 spine­like, length 8 (7–10) Epigynum horseshoeshaped, length 75 (68–75), bases of setae 3a on epigynum in most specimens ( Fig. 2b ). Ventral setae 3a anterior to setae 3b and g; vertical distance between levels of rows 3b and 3a 33 (15–33), 3a and g 55 (45–75), and g and 4a 95 (83–95). Genital papillae located posterior to setae g, distance between g and most anterior genital papilla 25 (23–25). Length of tarsus I 60 (55–65), tarsus II 75 (73–80), tarsus III 78 (70–78), tarsus IV 85 (78– 88).

Diagnosis

Aetacarus elanoides sp. n. differs from other described species by the following combination of features: in both sexes, length of si greater than distance separating bases of si (shorter in A. andrei ), solenidion 1 present on genu III (absent in A. leptotrichus ); in male, terminal membranes about as wide at base as they are long (conspicuously constricted at base in A. eurychaetus , hyalothrix , milvi , phylloproctus , puylaerti ), h1 slightly spatulate (strongly falcate in A. phylloproctus , lanceolate in avicedae and eurychaetus ), setae g well anterior to genital papillae (between genital papillae in A. laurencei ); in females, e2 with unique spatulate­mucronate shape shown by no other named species (most similarly shaped in A. eurychaetus , but in this species surface of e2 has strongly faceted surface decorations), h1 thick and spine­like (hair­like in A. eurychaetus , phylloproctus , puylaerti ).

Etymology From genus name of host, as a noun in apposition.

Remarks Although this is the only Aetacarus species to be described from a host restricted to the New World, we feel that this is due not to true rarity but rather to lack of exploration. We expect that there are additional species of Aetacarus to be discovered on other North, Central and South American accipiters of the subfamily Perninae , as well as on those Old World genera to which Elanoides is thought to be closely related ( Hamirostra Brown , Lophoictinia Kaup and Pernis Cuvier ) ( Lerner & Mindell 2005).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Aetacarus elanoides sp. n., female. a – dorsal view, b – genital area; gl = gland opening, gp = genital papilla, ia = cupule.

FIGURE 3. Scanning electron micrographic images of dorsal sides of (a) male and (b) female Aetacarus elanoides sp.n. Scales = 100 µm.

FIGURE 4. Scanning electron micrographic images of anatomy of Aetacarus elanoides sp. n.: a – male genital apparatus lateral view, b – male genital apparatus apical view (scales = 5 µm); c – male dorsal surface of tarsus IV with arrow indicating seta assumed to be seta d (scale = 20 µm); d – female posterior dorsum (scale = 50 µm).