Oplitis exopodi Hunter & Farrier, 1975

Babaeian, Esmaeil, Saboori, Alireza, Gwiazdowicz, Dariusz J. & Etemad, Vahid, 2016, Redescription of two species of Oplitis Berlese (Acari, Mesostigmata, Oplitidae) from Iran, ZooKeys 610, pp. 13-22 : 15-16

Taxon classification Animalia Mesostigmata Oplitidae

Oplitis exopodi Hunter & Farrier, 1975 Figs 1-7, 10-13

Description of females

(n = 2).Idiosoma. Length 560-570, width 438-458.

Dorsum (Fig. 1). Dorsal shield oval, slightly narrowed at both anterior and posterior regions, smooth on whole surface. Dorso-central region with complement of 105 pairs of scimitar-shaped setae (Fig. 2). Marginal shield united anteriorly with dorso-central region, with 42 pairs of smooth and needle-like setae.

Venter (Fig. 3). Tritosternal base narrow, c. 43 long, lacinia three-branched and pilose, lateral branches shorter than bifurcate median branch (Fig. 4). Sternal, endopodal and ventral shields smooth, exopodals with small puncta. Genital shield smooth, 157-162 long and 128-133 wide, ratio length/width = 1.21-1.23, situated between coxae II–IV, anterior margin convex and posterior margin straight. Perigenital ring oblong, 235-243 long and 136-143 wide, ratio length/width = 1.69-1.73, extending slightly beyond posterior level of coxae IV, with five crenulations on both anterior and posterior margins; lateral margins smooth and entire, perigenital area with four pairs of very short setae, lateral to genital shield, with two pairs of setae near anterior crenulation, one pair near to posterior crenulation and one pair inserted between coxae IV on inguinal region. Pre-anal line present. Ventral shield smooth, with 4-5 pairs of scimitar-shaped setae, 25-27 in length, Ad1 scimitar-shaped and 25-26 long, Ad2 smooth, needle-like and 12-13 long. Peritremes with three subequal convoluted branches. Pedofossae II–IV well developed, pedofossae III foot-shaped and pointed, pedofossae IV narrowing posteriorly and with a rounded tip.

Gnathosoma (Figs 5-7). Epistome three-branched and with serrate margins, median branch longer than laterals (Fig. 5). Corniculi short and horn-like; internal malae numerous and brushy, gnathosomal setae h1 smooth, h2 with a few barbs, h3 and pc thickened and denticulated (Fig. 6). Cheliceral digits normal for the genus; movable digit 35-38 long, with one subdistal teeth and a terminal hook; fixed digit 47-50 long (from tip to the base of movable digit), with two teeth and a terminal hook; pilus dentilis setiform and minute (Fig. 7). Palptarsus with three-tined apotele.

Legs (Figs 10-13). Leg chaetotaxy agree with Evans, 1972. Leg lengths: leg I 251-263, leg II 240-255, leg III 214-225, and leg IV 224-238 long.

Remarks.

Oplitis exopodi was originally found by Hunter and Farrier (1975) from North Carolina (USA) in association with Solenopsis xyloni and Brachyponera solitaria ( Formicidae ). It can be distinguished from other known species by dorsal shield smooth and with 105 pairs of scimitar-shaped setae; ventral regions (excluding exopodals) smooth; genital shield elongate, ratio length/width = 1.21-1.23; perigenital ring oblong, with 5 crenulations, ratio length/width = 1.69-1.73; peritremes long and three-convoluted; pre-anal line present; Ad2 shorter than Ad1; pedofossae IV narrow and with rounded tip.

Our specimens of Oplitis exopodi show some variations with illustration given by Hunter and Farrier (1975), especially shape of anterior section of peritreme (notched in our specimens, but smooth in with Hunter and Farrier’s illustration), shape of pedofossae III (foot-shaped in our specimens, but wide and pointed in Hunter and Farrier’s illustration) and the number of scimitar-shaped setae on ventral region (4-5 pairs in our specimens, but 6-8 pairs in Hunter and Farrier’s illustration).

Material examined.

2 females, Iran, Mazandaran Province, Nowshahr, Kheyrood-Kenar forest, 36°34'N, 50°34'E, altitude 741 m a.s.l., 27 May, 2015, E. Babaeian coll., in leaf-litter. The type specimens are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.