Zercon geliboluensis, Karaca, Mehmet & Urhan, Raşit, 2016

Karaca, Mehmet & Urhan, Raşit, 2016, Five new species of Zercon C. L. Koch, 1836 (Acari: Zerconidae) from northwestern Turkey, Zootaxa 4127 (1), pp. 31-59 : 38-41

Zercon geliboluensis sp. nov.

Materials examined. Holotype (female), soil and litter samples under juniper trees ( Juniperus sp.), 40°30' N, 26°42' E, 96 m, vicinity of Güneyli village, Gelibolu district (Çanakkale province), March 2014; Paratypes: 1 female, 1 male, same data as holotype. 1 female, 3 males, 2 deutonymphs and 1 protonymph, soil and litter samples under oak trees ( Quercus sp.), 41°19' N, 26°55' E, 49 m, vicinity of Pehlivanköy village, Pehlivanköy district (Kırklareli province), March 2014; 17 females, 7 males, 11 deutonymphs and 2 protonymphs, moss samples on soil layer, 40°44' N, 27°9' E, 446 m, vicinity of Bulgur village, Şarköy district (Tekirdağ province), March 2014.

Female ( Figure 6 ). Length of idiosoma in holotype 434, width 294. Measurements in female paratypes: mean length 432 (423–440), mean width 293 (284–303) (n =10).

Dorsum ( Figure 6 ). Twenty pairs of setae present on dorsal side of podonotum: j-row with six pairs, z-row with two pairs, s-row with six pairs and r-row with six pairs. Seta j1 finely barbed, remaining setae on podonotum short and smooth. Twenty-one pairs of setae present on opisthonotum: J-row with six pairs, Z-row with five pairs, S-row with three pairs and R-row with seven pairs. Setae J1, Z1 and S1 smooth, J2–J5 finely barbed. No setae in J series reaching base of following setae in the series. Seta J6 long, finely barbed, with hyaline ending. Setae Z2–Z3 finely barbed. Seta Z4 similar in appearance to seta J6, not reaching beyond opisthonotum. Seta Z5 short and needle-like, its base located on underside of opisthonotum. No setae in Z series reaching base of following setae in the series. Seta S2 finely barbed on one side and not reaching beyond opisthonotum. Seta S3 absent. Seta S4 short, twisted inward and finely barbed. All setae in R series short and smooth. Bases of setae J3–J5, Z2–Z4 and S1–S2 very large. Podonotum covered with irregular tile-like patern. Anteromedial part of opisthonotum covered with tile-like pattern. Remaining region between these parts and dorsal cavities, with sparse pattern of small spots. Dorsal cavities distinct and dark coloured, equal size, well sclerotised, axes parallel to that of the body.

Pores ( Figure 6 ). Pore po1 below base of seta s1, pore po2 located on line connecting setae j4–s4 (closer to seta j4) and pore po3 located on line connecting setae j5–s6 on podonotum. Pore Po1 above the base of seta Z1, pore Po2 below the base of seta S2, pore Po3 located on line connecting setae J4–S4 (closer to seta J4) and pore Po4 below the base of seta S4 on opisthonotum.

Venter. Shapes of ventral shields and peritremes, chaetotaxy are typical for genus Zercon . Two pairs of setae present on ventral side of podonotum. Setae p1 short, smooth and needle-like, seta p2 long, finely plumose, featherlike with hyaline ending. Peritremes slightly bent. Lateral ends of peritremal shield reach to seta R1. Adgenital shields present, but not clearly visible (with two opening valves). Ventrianal shield with nine pairs of setae. Anterior margin of ventrianal shield with four setae and unpaired postanal seta, all short, smooth and needle-like.

Male ( Figure 7 ). Mean length of idiosoma 324 (299–352), mean width 218 (206–231) (n = 10). Dorsal idiosoma, ventral idiosoma, shapes of setae on idiosoma, sculpture of podonotum and opisthonotum, size and appearance of dorsal cavities basically similar to those of female.

Deutonymph. Mean length of idiosoma 338 (319–353), mean width 212 (200–221) (n = 10). Seta j1 finely barbed, all remaining setae on podonotum short and smooth. Setae J1, Z1 and S1 on opisthonotum smooth. Setae J2–J5 and Z2–Z3 finely barbed. Seta J6 long, finely barbed, with hyaline ending. Seta Z4 similar in appearance to seta J6, not reaching beyond opisthonotum. Seta S4 similar in appearance to setae in R series.

Protonymph. Mean length of idiosoma 289 (281–296), mean width 228 (221–235) (n = 3). Seta j1 finely barbed, all remainder setae short and smooth on podonotum. Setae J1, Z1 and S1 short and smooth on opisthonotum. Seta J6 long, pilose with hyaline ending. Setae in R series short, smooth and needle-like. Remarks. Average lengths of opisthonotal setae and distances between setae within longitudinal rows of females, males, deutonymphs and protonymphs specimens: see Table 3 . Zercon geliboluensis is closely related to Z. sklari Balan. The distinguishing characters of these two species are shown in Table 4 .

Etymology. The specific name geliboluensis reflects the name of Gelibolu Peninsula (Çanakkale, Turkey) where the new species were collected.

Zercon inonuensis Urhan, 2007b: 118 . Zercon inonuensis .— Duran, 2013: 59.

Materials examined. 5 females, 4 males and 2 protonymphs, moss samples on soil layer, 41°29' N, 28°13' E, 207 m, vicinity of Binkılıç village, Çatalca district (İstanbul province), November 2012. 8 females, 3 males and 3 deutonymphs, soil and litter samples under oak trees ( Quercus sp.), 41°14' N, 28°12' E, 224 m, vicinity of Büyüksinekli village, Silivri district (İstanbul province), November 2012.

Distribution. Turkey ( Urhan, 2007b).

Remarks. This species was recorded from Eskişehir and İstanbul provinces before.

Figures

FIGURES 6 – 7. Dorsal views of Zercon geliboluensis: 6. female, 7. male (Scale bar = 100 µm). FIGURES 8 – 9. Zercon similifoveolatus: 8. dorsum of female, 9. venter of female (scale bar = 100 µm, modified after Ujvári & Călugăr, 2010).

Tables

TABLE 3. Lengths of opisthonotal setae and the distances between their bases in J -, Z -, and S - rows of Zercon geliboluensis sp. nov. (F: female, M: male, DN: deutonymph, PN: protonymph).

Seta	F	M	DN	PN	Seta	F	M	DN	PN	Seta	F	M	DN	PN
J1	16	11	12	9	Z1	16	11	12	8	S1	16	13	10	7
J1-J2	27	28	23	20	Z1-Z2	49	36	30	20	S1-S2	30	27	22	20
J2	15	11	10	7	Z2	19	13	11	7	S2	21	11	11	6
J2-J3	2 8	2 9	2 6	1 4	Z2-Z3	3 3	2 4	2 5	2 0	S2-S3	-	-	-	-
J3	1 9	1 1	1 0	7	Z3	2 1	1 3	1 7	1 0	S3	-	-	-	-
J3-J4	3 6	2 4	1 7	1 9	Z3-Z4	3 7	2 3	2 1	1 1	S3-S4	-	-	-	-
J4	1 6	1 2	9	8	Z4	2 6	2 0	4 5	5 2	S4	9	6	1 6	2 0
J4-J5	34	27	20	12	Z4-Z5	50	37	31	25
J5	1 3	1 0	9	8	Z5	1 1	8	7	9
J5-J6	28	21	19	12
J6	35	27	25	28
J6-J6	111	86	80	83

TABLE 4. Comparison of Z. geliboluensis sp. nov. and Z. sklari.

	Zercon geliboluensis sp. nov.	Z. sklari Balan, 1992
Pore Po2	on line connecting setae Z3-S2	on line connecting setae S1-S2
Pore Po3	above line connecting setae J5-Z4	on line connecting setae J4-Z4
Seta S4	present	absent
Shape of setae in R series	long and smooth	short and finely barbed
Zercon inonuensis Urhan