Atractides nahavandii Schwoerbel & Sepasgozarian, 1976

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 : 35-37

Atractides nahavandii Schwoerbel & Sepasgozarian, 1976

( Figs. 66–71 )

Type series: Holotype ɗ, Typ. P. J/22, Atractides (s.str) nahavandii . ɗ. Brook Avarde near Shandiz, Mashad, 30.09.1974, coll. Schwoerbel. Paratype: Ψ, P. J/23. Allotyp, label and state as holotype.

Diagnosis: dorsal integument: finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. I­L: I­L­5 with S­1/2 closely to each other, I­L­6 stout, distally thickened, in the center narrowed. Genital field: Ac in a weakly curved line; excretory pore: smooth; Vgl­1: not fused to Vgl­2. Palp: weak sexual dimorphism, P­4 sword seta inserted halfway between ventral hairs.

Description: Male (in parentheses data from Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian 1976): Length of idiosoma (448), width (304). Dorsally the integument is finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field ( Fig. 66 ): length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 255; Cx­3 width 278; Cx­1+2 medial suture 100 in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 195. Measurements of mouthparts: palp total length 221, dorsal length and relative length (% total length, in parentheses) of single segments: P­1 24 (10.9), P­2 54 (24.4), P­3 52 (23.5), P­4 65 (29.4), P­5 26 (11.8); length ratio P­2/P­4 is 0.83; palp ( Fig. 67­68 ): P­2 ventral margins distally protruding, sword seta inserted halfway between ventral hairs. Genital field ( Fig. 66 ): anterior margin convex; 83 in length, 86 in width, Ac­1­3 length 24:23:29­ 35; excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­2.

I­L ( Fig. 70 ): I­L­5 with S­1/2 closely to each other, I­L­6 stout, distally thickened, in the center narrowed; I­L­5 dorsal length 109, I­L­5 central height 48, ratio dorsal length I­ L­5/central height 2.24, S­1 length 55, ratio length S­1/width 13.5, S­2 length 51, ratio length S­2/ width 11.6, distance between sword setae of I­L­5 2; ratio length S­1/2 1.08; I­ L­6 length 99, I­L­6 central height 32, ratio length I­L­6/central height 3.09; ratio length I­ L­5/6 1.1

Female (in parentheses data from Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian 1976): Length of idiosoma (544), width (416). Dorsally the integument is finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field: length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 292; Cx­3 width 352, Cx­1+2 width 273; Cx­1+2 medial suture 119 in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 227. Measurements of mouthparts: palp total length 291, dorsal length and relative length (% total length, in parentheses) of single segments: P­1 24 (8.3), P­2 70 (24.0), P­3 78 (26.8), P­4 86 (29.6), P­5 33 (11.3); length ratio P­2/P­4 is 0.81. Genital field ( Fig. 69 ): 131 in length, 129 in width, Ac­1­3 length 36­33­34; excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­ 2.

I­L ( Fig. 71 ): I­L­5 dorsal length 145, I­L­5ventral length 111, ratio dorsal length I­L­ 5/ventral length 1.3, I­L­5 central height 47, ratio dorsal length I­L­5/central height 3.08, S­1 length 68, ratio length S­1/width 9.8, S­2 length 60, ratio length S­2/width 6.3, distance between sword setae of I­L­5 3.5; ratio length S­1/2 1.13; I­L­6 length 116, I­L­6 central height 32, ratio length I­L­6/central height 3.63; ratio length I­L­5/6 1.25.

Remarks: Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian (1976) compared A. nahavandii with A. nodipalpis , a species similar in the protruding ventral margin of P­ 2 in male. As stated by Schwoerbel and Sepasgosarian, A. nahavandii is easily distinguished by the more longish I­L. A. nahavandii is unique among all species with striated integument unsclerotized excretory pore and unfused Vgl­1/2, in the combination of a rather short I­L­5, and as a consequence L ratio I­L­5/6 <1.25, a thickened I­L­6 (L/HB I­L­6 3.0­3.7), short setae S­ 1/2, similar in shape and placed closely together, and a weakly developed ventrodistal projectionof P­ 2 in both sexes. From A. nodipalpis , the only species discussed in the original description, both sexes of differ in the homoiomorphic, little distant setae S­1/2, a strongly curved, but stocky I­L­6, palpus with weak sexual dimorphism and a smaller Ac.

The only further striated species in Iran with a little modified I­L with homoiomorphic, relatively short and little distant setae S­1/2 is Atractides mirkopesici sp. nov. From A. nahavandii , A. mirkopesici sp. nov. is easily distinguished by the relatively shorter I­L­ 5, a more stout I­L­6 and the ventral margin of P­2 is straight, not distally slightly protruding.

Distribution: Iran; only known from the locus typicus.

Figures

FIGURES 66 – 71. Atractides nahavandii Schwoerbel & Sepasgozarian, 1976, (66 – 68, 70 = male; 69, 71 = female): 66 = idiosoma, ventral view; 67 – 68 = palp; 69 = genital field; 70 = I­L­ 5 / 6; 71 = I­ L­ 5 / 6. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.