Atractides acutirostris ( Motas & C.Angelier, 1927 )

Pesic, Vladimir, Saboori, Alireza, Asadi, Mahdieh & Vafaei, Reza, 2004, Studies on water mites of the family Hygrobatidae (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Iran, I. The water mite genus Atractides Koch, with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 495, pp. 1-40 : 37-39

Atractides acutirostris ( Motas & C.Angelier, 1927)

( Figs. 72–76 , Table 1 )

New records: (First records from the study area) Kerman Province, Chatrod (a small city near Kerman), 0 2.03.2003, leg. Asadi (0/1/0); IR8 Mazandaran Province, the hygropetric stream near Ramsar (on Javaher deh road, 36° 57' N 49°49' E), ca. 500 m asl., 24 Cº, 19.07.2003, leg. Pesic, Asadi, Saboori and Akrami (0/1/0); IR11 Mazandaran Province, Ramsar area, Safa stream near Gavramak village (37°14' 2 N 49°9' 9E), 241 m asl., 22 Cº, 19.07.2003, leg. Pesic, Asadi, Saboori and Akrami (1/0/0); IR35 Isfahan Province, Kuhrang river between Komitak (ca. 32º42N 50º28 E), ca. 2100 m asl., and Ghale Shahrokh cities, 0 2.08.2003, leg. Pesic (0/1/0); IR44 Fars Province, Tang Boragh river, 8 km from Tang Boragh village (30°38'18 N 52°3' 10E, 25 km from Eghlid city), 2188 m asl., 0 6.08.2003, leg. Pesic (0/1/0).

Remarks: The male from Mazandaran agrees with the measurements given for a male from Hungary ( Szalay 1935). The slight differences observed in the absolute and relative length of palp segments probably fall within the variability of the species. According to Gerecke (2003), most of the available information suggests that Szalay's specimen, collected far away from the locus typicus, is indeed conspecific, but there is some doubt left due to the particular long median suture line Cx­1+ 2 in Szalay's specimen (150 long), a character found neither in any of the Sicilian males ( Gerecke 2003), nor in the our specimen or in the specimen described by Lundblad (1956) from France.

Furthermore, according to Gerecke (2003), females from continental Italy, Greece and Israel and from the Sicilian populations differ from the original description in generally higher measurement values and slightly stouter palp and I­L segments ( Fig. 74 ). Most measurements of the female from Iran agrees with the female from Sicily. Differences (in parenthesis the data of a female from Sicily, from Gerecke 2003) are found in minor dimensions of the Cx­1+2 medial suture line (138 long) and of the genital field (L/W 178/ 205), as well as the relatively longer P­1 (% L 13). For the time being they all are considered as conspecific with A. acutirostris , in this concept a very variable species ( Gerecke 2003).

Distribution: Central and Southern Europe, scattered areas; British Islands, Greece and Israel ( Gerecke 2003).

Figures

FIGURES 72 – 76. Atractides acutirostris (Motas & C. Angelier, 1927), (76 = male; 72 – 75 = female): 72 = gnathosoma and palp; 73 = chelicere; 74 = I – L­ 5 / 6; 75 = genital field; 76 = genital field. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.