Litarachna communis Walter, 1925

Durucan, Furkan, 2021, New records of marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia, Pontarachnidae) from Turkey, Persian Journal of Acarology 10 (2), pp. 145-153 : 146

Litarachna communis Walter, 1925 ( Fig. 1 )

Material – 1♀, 1♂, 2 deutonymphs, Izmir (Urla-Karantina Island) ( Pinctata radiata, 0–1 m depth), 18.10.2019 ; 1♂, Antalya ( Hamitbey Beach ) (sand, 5–7 m depth), 30.07.2018 .

Female – Idiosoma 437 long and 400 wide. Genital field 67 long; postgenital sclerite bowed and 45 in width ( Fig. 1a ). Male – Idiosoma 425 and 430 long, 375 and 310 wide. Genital field 45 and 50 long, 35 and 38 wide respectively. Number of perigenital setae are 128 and 152 in males ( Fig. 1b ). Lengths of P1-P5: 37, 67, 50, 87, 55 ( Fig. 1d ). Deutonymphs – Idiosoma 320 and 317, 350 and 310 wide ( Fig. 1c ). Lengths of PI-PV: 27, 55, 38, 67, 38 ( Fig. 1e ). Litarachna communis is widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea ( Chatterjee et al. 2019). The morphological characteristics of the specimens from Antalya and Izmir accord with the previously given descriptions by Mari and Morselli (1983) and Koç et al. (2015).

Figures

Figure 1. Litarachna communis Walter, 1925 – (a) Female idiosoma, ventral view, W1 to W3, wheel-like acetabula; (b) Male idiosoma, ventral view; (c) Deutonymph idiosoma, ventral view; (d) Male palp, lateral view; (e) Deutonymph palp, lateral view. Scale bars: (a-c) = 100 µm; (d & e) = 50 µm.