Zercon cretensis * Ujvári, 2008

Duran, Elif Hilal, Received, Raşit Urhan, Online, Published & Version, Final, 2017, Zerconid mites (Acari, Zerconidae) in İstanbul, with four new records for the Turkish fauna, Turkish Journal of Zoology 41 (4), pp. 931-939 : 935-936

Species: Zercon cretensis * Ujvári, 2008

Number of examined specimens: 38 ♀♀, 6 ♂♂, and 4 deutonymphs.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 413/338 µm (in females); 341/225 µm (in males).

Description of female ( Figure 2B ): on podonotum, 20 pairs setae present (j row with 6, z row with 2, s row with 6, and r row with 6 pairs). Setae j1 apically plumose, r4–6 elongated, finely barbed with hyaline ending. Remaining setae short and smooth. On opisthonotum, 22 pairs setae present (J row with 6, Z row with 5, S row with 4, and R row with 7 pairs). Setae J1–2, Z1–2, and S1 smooth. Setae J3–6, Z3–5, S2–4, and R1–7 elongated, finely barbed with hyaline ending. Pore Po2 located between setae Z2–S2 and pore Po3 located between setae J5–Z4. Dorsal cavities distinct, semimoon-shaped and equal in size. Adgenital shields present. Anterior margin of ventrianal shield with 2 setae.

Chaetotaxy and poroidotaxy of males similar to that of females.

Distribution in İstanbul: Arnavutköy, Beykoz, Çatalca, Sarıyer, and Şişli.

Distribution in the world: Greece ( Ujvári, 2008).

Species: Zercon inonuensis Urhan, 2007

Number of examined specimens: 11 ♀♀ and 5 ♂♂.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 447/365 µm (in females); 375/280 µm (in males).

Distribution in İstanbul: Beykoz, Çatalca, Silivri, and Şile.

Distribution in the world: Turkey (Urhan, 2007).

Species: Zercon istanbulensis Duran & Urhan, 2015

Number of examined specimens: 90 ♀♀ and 23 ♂♂.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 396/311 µm (in females); 310/235 µm (in males).

Distribution in İstanbul: Arnavutköy, Beykoz, Çatalca, Kartal, Pendik, Sarıyer, and Şile.

Distribution in the world: Turkey (Duran and Urhan, 2015).

Species: Zercon laczii * Ujvári, 2010

Number of examined specimens: 407 ♀♀, 136 ♂♂, and 24 deutonymphs.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 440/322 µm (in females); 344/239 µm (in males).

Description of female ( Figure 2C ): on podonotum, 20 pairs setae present (j row with 6, z row with 2, s row with 6, and r row with 6 pairs). Setae j1 apically plumose, r1–6 elongated, finely barbed without hyaline ending. Remaining setae short and smooth. On opisthonotum, 22 pairs setae present (J row with 6, Z row with 5, S row with 4, and R row with 7 pairs). Setae J1–2, Z1–2, and S1 smooth. Setae J3–6, Z3–4, S3–4, and R1–7 elongated, finely barbed with hyaline ending. Setae S2 and Z5 smooth with hyaline ending. Pore Po2 located outside base of seta Z3, and pore

Po3 located between setae J5–Z4. Dorsal cavities distinct, large, and equal size. Adgenital shields present. Anterior margin of ventrianal shield with 2 setae.

Chaetotaxy and poroidotaxy of males similar to that of females.

Distribution in İstanbul: Beykoz, Eyüp, Sarıyer, Silivri, and Şile.

Distribution in the world: Croatia (Ujvári, 2010).

Species: Zercon lepurus Błaszak, 1979

Number of examined specimens: 13♀♀, 6 ♂♂, and 4 deutonymphs.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 454/369 µm (in females); 338/255 µm (in males).

Distribution in İstanbul: Çatalca and Sarıyer.

Distribution in the world: Turkey ( Blaszak, 1979).

Species: Zercon marinae * Ivan & Călugăr, 2004

Number of examined specimens: 147 ♀♀, 63 ♂♂, and 26 deutonymphs.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 380/282 µm (in females); 330/235 µm (in males).

Description of female ( Figure 2D ): on podonotum, 20 pairs setae present (j row with 6, z row with 2, s row with 6, and r row with 6 pairs). Setae j1 apically plumose, r1–6 finely barbed with hyaline ending. Remaining setae short and smooth. On opisthonotum, 22 pairs setae present (J row with 6, Z row with 5, S row with 4, and R row with 7 pairs). Setae J1–2, Z1–2, and S1 smooth. Setae J3–6, Z3–5, S2–4, and R1–7 finely barbed with hyaline ending. Pore Po2 located between setae Z3–S2, and pore Po3 located between setae J4–Z4. Dorsal cavities distinct, semimoon-shaped, and equal in size. Adgenital shields present. Anterior margin of ventrianal shield with 2 setae.

Chaetotaxy and poroidotaxy of males similar to that of females.

Distribution in İstanbul: Arnavutköy, Beykoz, Çatalca, Eyüp, Pendik, Sarıyer, Silivri, and Şile.

Distribution in the world: Romania ( Ivan and Călugăr, 2004).

Species: Zercon nemoralis Urhan, 2001

Number of examined specimens: 5 ♀♀ and 18 ♂♂.

Average length and width of idiosoma: 471/374 µm (in females); 369/275 µm (in males).

Distribution in İstanbul: Çatalca, Sarıyer, and Şile.

Distribution in the world: Turkey (Urhan, 2001).

Altitude and habitat preferences of zerconids: For the sampling localities in the research area, the soil layer was divided into 100-m ranges. Samplings were made from 0 to 300 m. Distribution altitudes of detected zerconid specimens are noted in Table 1. Habitat preferences of zerconid mites in the study area are given in Table 2.

According to Table 1, all of the determined species generally occur at 0– 300 m. P. yavuzi only occurs at over 200 m. The remaining specimens show a wider preference in terms of altitudinal ranges. According to Table 2, the determined species were commonly recorded in habitats of moss, Pinus spp. , and Quercus spp. However, there were no species in habitats of Rosa canina and Rubus sp. In terms of species richness, 12 species belonging to Zerconidae were recorded under pines and 17 species in moss pads. As a result of the study, both Prozercon and Zercon species, which preferred the same habitats, were observed.

The terra typica of P. carpathofimbriatus is in Slovakia, but this species has also been found in Croatia ( Ujvári, 2011d) and Turkey (present paper). Z. cretensis was found first on the island of Crete in Greece ( Ujvári, 2008) and is recorded from Turkey in this study. Terra typicas of Z. laczii and Z. marinae are in Croatia (Ujvári, 2010) and Romania ( Ujvári and Călugăr, 2010) respectively; in this study, these species were recorded outside of their type localities for the first time. In light of this information, it is concluded these four zerconid species have their origins in South Europe and extend their distribution areas up to Turkey. It is thought that the Thrace region of Turkey is a bridge between Turkey and Europe allowing the spread of various zerconid species belonging to the genera Prozercon and Zercon , which have European origins, to the northwestern parts of Turkey. As a result, it is expected

Figures

Figure 2. New recorded species of zerconid mites for the Turkish acarofauna (females):A) Prozercon carpathofimbriatus (Ujvári, 2011d), B) Zercon cretensis (Ujvári, 2008), C) Zercon laczii (Ujvári, 2010), D) Zercon marinae (Ujvári and Călugăr, 2010) (scale bars = 100 µm).