Aceria ajabshiriensis, Tajaddod & Lotfollahi & Lillo, 2020

Tajaddod, Sadegh, Lotfollahi, Parisa & Lillo, Enrico de, 2020, Aceria species associated with Solanaceae worldwide with description of a new species, Acarologia 60 (2), pp. 243-253 : 245-248

Aceria ajabshiriensis n. sp.

Zoobank: 714B12BB-BC8E-43DA-BA85-BB6E61A48939

Description — FEMALE ( Figure 1 ; measured specimens n = 10).

Body vermiform, 190 (173–205, excluding gnathosoma), 53* (52–54) thick, 55 (50–58) wide.

Gnathosoma projecting obliquely downwards, chelicerae 26 (26–30), palp 28 (26–35), palp coxal setae ep 3.5* (3–3.5), dorsal palp genual setae d 8 (7–10), unbranched.

Prodorsal shield 35 (24–35) including frontal lobe, 43* (40–45) wide, sub-circular; with a short flexible distally acuminate frontal lobe, 7 (5–7), over gnathosomal base, completely smooth. Tubercles of scapular setae sc on rear shield margin, 29 (27–29) apart, setae sc 30 (26–35), directed backward divergently.

Legs with all usual segments and setae. Leg I 31 (26–33), trochanter 6 (6–7), femur 8 (8–10), genu 6 (5–6), tibia 8 (6–9), tarsus 9 (7–9), tarsal solenidion ω 6 (6–8) distally enlarged and tapered, empodium simple, 7.5 (6.5–9), 6-rayed; femoral setae bv 14* (12–16), genual setae l” 29 (25–33), paraxial tibial setae l’ 8 (6–10), located in basal third of tibia, paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ft ’ 15 (10–19), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae ft” 26 (23–30), paraxial unguinal tarsal setae u’ 4 (3–4.5). Leg II 31 (26–33), trochanter 5 (5–7), femur 10 (9–10), genu 5 (4–5), tibia 7 (5–8), tarsus 7 (7–8), tarsal solenidion ω 8 (7–8.5) distally tapered, empodium simple, 6 (5.5–8), 6-rayed; femoral setae bv 12 (12–15), genual setae l” 11 (9–15), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ft’ 6 (6–9), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae ft” 24 (21–27), paraxial unguinal tarsal setae u’ 4.5 (3.5–5.5).

Coxisternal region. Prosternal apodeme 5 (5–6.5), anterior setae on coxisternum I 1b 12* (10–19), 11 (9–11) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum I 1a 34 (27–41), 10 (7–10) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum II 2a 48 (44–54), 23 (18–23) apart; 7 (6–8) microtuberculate semiannuli between coxae and genital coverflap plus 3 (2–3) transversal rows of lined granules at the base of the coverflap. Coxae ornamented with numerous dots and dashes.

External genitalia 11 (10–15), 21 (21–22) wide, coverflap with 9 (9–10) longitudinal striae; setae 3a 22 (20–27), 14 (11–14) apart.

Internal genitalia: spermathecae ovoid, oriented posterolaterad; spermathecal tubes relatively short; transverse genital apodeme trapezoidal, distally folded.

Opisthosoma dorsally arched, with 48 (39–53) dorsal semiannuli, 64 (46–64) ventral semiannuli.

Microtubercles: subelliptical, on posterior margin of dorsal semiannuli, bigger on last 17– 20th dorsal semiannuli and minute spiny on last 3 (no variation) dorsal semiannuli; circular, on posterior margin of ventral semiannuli, elongated and linear on last 5 (5–7) ventral semiannuli.

Setae c2 55 (37–57) on ventral semiannulus 11 (9–11), setae d 69 (69–86) on ventral semiannulus 23 (18–23); setae e 53 (47–72) on ventral semiannulus 40 (27–40); setae f 33 (28–36) on ventral semiannulus 59 (42–59); 5 (4–5) annuli posterior to setae f. Setae h2 110 (87–115) apically very fine, h1 3 (3–5).

MALE (measured specimens n = 3). Similar in shape and prodorsal shield arrangement to female. Body smaller than female, 125–150, 47–52 wide, 42 thick; palp genual setae d 7–8; prodorsal shield 24–32, 40–42 wide; setae sc 25–26, 20–25 apart. Opisthosoma with 35–41 dorsal semiannuli and 53–50 ventral semiannuli; 8 semiannuli between coxae and genitalia, with microtubercles similar to those of female. Setae: 1b 8.5–9, 1a 20–27, 2a 32–43, c2 37–47, d 42–44, e 33–41, f 22–29, h1 3, h2 55–67). Male genitalia 15–20 wide, setae 3a 15–21, 12 apart.

Type host plant — Lycium ruthenicum Murray (Solanaceae) , Russian Box Thorn.

Type locality — Rahmanloo village, Ajabshir region, East Azerbaijan province, Iran (37°18’39.8’‘N, 45°28’50.3”E), 1,290 m above sea level, coll. S. Tajaddod, late July 2016.

Type material — Holotype: single female on a microscope slide (LR-IEA-RO16T-1). Paratypes: 5 females and 3 males mounted singly on separate microscope slides (LR-IEA-RO16T-2–8).

Other material — Mites preserved in a vial (LR-IEA-RO16 T) of Oudemans’ fluid ( Walter and Krantz, 2009) as extracted from the same sample as the type specimens.

Relation to the host plant — Vagrant; no apparent symptom was observed.

Etymology — This species is named after Ajabshir, the region where it was collected.

Differential diagnosis — The new species was compared with 18 Aceria species associated with the plants of family Solanaceae known to date. The new species closely resembles Aceria eucricotes (Nalepa) collected on Lycium europaeum L. from Algeria and, previously, also on L. ruthenicum from Iran ( Lotfollahi et al. 2017). Both species have completely smooth prodorsal shields, similar number of empodial rays and body setal length. But these two species differ in number of dorsal semiannuli (39–53 in the new species versus 51–73 in A. eucricotes ), number of semiannuli between coxae and genital coverflap (6–8 in the new species versus 3–5 in A. eucricotes ). In addition, A. ajabshiriensis n. sp. has a short flexible distally acuminate frontal lobe, while A. eucricotes doesn’t have a frontal lobe. Finally, the female genital coverflap of the new species is ornamented with 9–10 longitudinal striae, whereas A. eucricotes has a smooth coverflap.

Remarks — This is the third eriophyoid species collected on L. ruthenicum and all three species were collected from this host plant in Iran ( Lotfollahi et al. 2014, 2017).

Figures

Figure 1 Schematic drawings ofAceria ajabshiriensisn. sp.: AD – Prodorsal shield; AL – Lateral view of anterior body region; CG – Female coxigenital region; em – Empodium; GM – Male genital region; IG – Internal female genitalia; LO – Lateral view of annuli; L1 – Leg I; PM – Lateral view of posterior opisthosoma. Scale bar: 10ႜζ for AD, AL, CG, GM, IG, PM; 5 ႜζ for LO, L1; 2.5 ႜζ for em.