Alliphis carinatus Mašán & Babaeian, 2016

Mašán, Peter, Babaeian, Esmaeil & Kafi, Pouneh, 2016, A new mite of the genus Alliphis Halbert, 1923 from Iran (Acari: Eviphididae), with a summary of the world fauna, Zootaxa 4067 (3), pp. 373-382 : 374-375

Alliphis carinatus Mašán & Babaeian , sp. nov.

( Figs 1‒7 )

Specimens examined. Holotype: female, Iran, Khuzestan Province, Ahwaz City, Shahid Chamran University (31°18'38" N, 48°39' E, altitude 20 m, 4 June, 2010, E. Babaeian coll., on Copris sp. Paratypes: two females, same data as holotype. The type material is deposited in the Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Iran (holotype and one paratype), and the Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia (one paratype).

Diagnosis (female). The new species may be distinguished from the other congeners primarily by the following important characters: (1) specific carinate sculpture on anteromedial portion of dorsal shield; (2) vertical setae j1 markedly reduced in length: j1 the shortest idiosomal setae (j1=1/3xj2); (3) lengths of posteriormost dorsal shield setae with the following formula: J3≥J5˃Z5; (4) sternal shield subquadrate, without specific sculptural pattern; (5) peritrematal shields narrow, not ornamented or striated on surface, with short and tapered poststigmatic section; (6) movable digit of chelicera bidentate.

Description (female). Dorsal idiosoma ( Figs 1 , 6 ). Idiosoma dorso-ventrally flattened, elongated and suboval, almost completely covered by dorsal shield; the shield 460–470 Μm long and 275–280 Μm wide, entire, well sclerotised, weakly and irregularly reticulate, armed with three pairs of thickened, strongly sclerotised and longitudinally oriented ridges; the outer pair of these structures longest, reaching close to bases of setae S3 or S4, almost parallel with shorter and anteriorly connected intermediate ridges reaching close to bases of setae Z3 or Z4; inner pair of ridges shortest, more weakly sclerotised, parallel and reaching close to bases of setae j6. Dorsal shield with anteriormost portion slightly narrowed toward the vertex and posterior margin widely rounded, bearing 30 pairs of dorsal setae (18 pairs on podonotum: j1–j6, z1, z2, z4–z6, s2, s4–s6, r2, r3, and r5; 12 pairs on opisthonotum: J1–J3, J5, Z1, Z3–Z5, S1, and S3–S5); marginal setae R1, R3 and R4 inserted on dorsolateral soft integument, off the shield. All dorsal setae uniform, simple, smooth, pointed and needle-shaped; setae j1, z1 and Z5 shortest, j1 slightly thickened and lanceolate, z1 attenuate; mediolateral and mediomarginal dorsal setae slightly longer (30–40 Μm) than those with central position (25–35 Μm). Measurements of some selected setae: j 1 8–10 Μm, z 1 10–12 Μm, j 2 30–33 Μm, j3–j5 32–35 Μm, J 3 21–22 Μm, J 5 18–20 Μm, Z 5 14–15 Μm.

Ventral idiosoma ( Fig. 2 ). Presternal shields fully integrated with anterior margin of sternal shield, relatively well sclerotised, and with delicate transverse striation on surface. Sternal shield subquadrate, only slightly longer than wide (115 Μm in length, 103 Μm in width), smooth on surface (only very delicately punctate but with no specific sculptural pattern), with three pairs of setae and two pairs of lyrifissures, almost straight or moderately convex on anterior margin, conspicuously convex on posterior margin, obtusely pointed in anterolateral and lateromedial corners, and irregularly curved on indistinct posterolateral corners. First pair of sternal lyrifissures small, slit-shaped and oriented obliquely to longitudinal axis. Metasternal shields minute, irregular, each bearing one metasternal seta and adjacent lyrifissure. Endopodal shields III-IV narrow, subtriangular and free from sternal shield; parapodal shields behind coxae IV narrow and curved; a small exopodal shield situated between coxae III– IV. Peritremes and stigmata well developed; anterior tip of peritremes reaching between setae z1 and s2. Peritrematal shields developed along whole length of peritreme, narrow, smooth on surface, with anterior section fused to dorsal shield, short tapered post-stigmatic section not reaching beyond posterior margin of coxae IV. Epigynal shield 57 Μm wide, oblong, hyaline in anteriormost part, smooth on surface, regularly convex on posterior margins, bearing a pair of genital setae on posterolateral margins; paragenital lyrifissures on soft integument alongside genital shield; postgenital soft integument, with four very narrow sclerites oriented transversely. Inguinal regions with a pair of suboval, subtriangular or crescent-shaped metapodal shields, and two pairs of very small sclerites. Anal shield 86 Μm long and 97 Μm wide, subtriangular, widely rounded anterolaterally, ornamented with weak and irregular reticulation; anus subcircular, with almost medial position; circum-anal region with three subequal setae; adanal gland pores on lateral edges of the shield; cribrum normally developed. Ventrolateral and opisthogastric soft integument simply striated, with six pairs of setae (JV1–JV5, ZV2, and ZV3); ventrally inserted setae similar to those on dorsum, but moderately shorter. Insemination structures apparently unsclerotised, not detectable.

Gnathosoma ( Figs 3–5 ). Corniculi horn-like, relatively slim, obtusely pointed at their tip; ventral hypostome with three pairs of smooth needle-like setae; hypostome with a pair of simple palpcoxal setae; deutosternal groove with one smooth and five serrate transverse furrows ( Fig. 4 ). Cheliceral digits well developed, dentate; fixed digit with rather small terminal hook, robust medial tooth and two denticles on each side of medial tooth; dorsal seta and pilus dentilis not detected; movable digit with stronger terminal hook, one subdistal denticle and a large submedial tooth ( Fig. 5 ). Epistome with elongated, lanceolate and spiniferous central projection and widened laterobasal elements; base regularly sloping, curved and serrate on anterior margin ( Fig. 3 ). Palp with normal setation, palpgenu with six setae; palptarsus without paired macroeupathidia, palptarsal apotele two-tined.

Legs ( Fig. 7 ). Setation of legs I–IV normal for the genus: coxae 2, 2, 2, 1; trochanters 6, 5, 5, 5; femora 13 (2 5/ 4 2), 11 (2 5/3 1), 6 (1 3/1 1), 6 (1 3/1 1); genua 11 (1 5/3 2), 11 (2 5/2 2), 8 (1 4/2 1), 7 (1 4/1 1); tibiae 11 (1 5/3 2), 10 (2 4/2 2), 7 (1 3/2 1), 7 (1 3/2 1). Ambulacra of tarsi II–IV with well developed and sclerotised claws; claws on tarsi I slightly smaller and less sclerotised than in other legs. Setae slightly shorter and thicker than idiosomal setae, especially dorsal setae ( Fig. 7 ).

Etymology. The species name carinatus is derived from the Latin words carīna (keel, ridge) and - atus (possessing), refers to ridges on the dorsal shield.

Notes. Identification and separation of known species of Alliphis is difficult and there is no effective key for their identification. We cannot provide a new one at the moment until the genus is revised more thoroughly.

Mašán & Halliday (2010) defined the genus Alliphis by the following character states: (1) dorsal shield setae j1 lanceolate, with acuminate tips; (2) dorsal shield setae short, subequal and uniform in length; (3) anterior dorsal shield simple, not expanded ventrally beyond the vertex, with setae j1 and z1 positioned dorsally; (4) peritrematal shields not connected with each other to form an arch-shaped ventral extension of the vertex; (5) peritrematal shields fused to anterolateral parts of dorsal shield; (6) dorsal shield at most with delicate reticulate sculpture on surface, without coarse punctate-reticulate pattern; (7) cuticular integument smooth or simply striated, without additional sculptural ornamentation and sclerotised structures; (8) presternal platelets present; (9) first pair of sternal pores small, slit-like and oriented oblique to longitudinal axis; (10) metasternal platelets present, each bearing an associated seta and pore; (11) endopodal platelets II-III completely fused to sternal shield; (12) exopodal platelets present; (13) movable cheliceral digit unidentate, fixed digit without hyaline appendage. We would add also: (14) dorsal shield with 30 pairs of setae, including only four pairs of J-series setae (J1–J3, J5); (15) lateral and opisthogastric soft integument holotrichous, with at most 10 pairs of setae (R1, R3, R4, JV1–JV5, ZV2, and ZV3).

These morphological characters of Alliphis are mostly consistent with those found in Alliphis carinatus , except for the character that is not typical for the genus (see point 13) or found in the genus up to now (point 6). The movable digit of the chelicera has two teeth (one large submedial and one small subdistal) in A. carinatus , where most other Alliphis species have only one large submedial tooth (the Australian species Alliphis transversus has two small teeth). In addition, in the new species, the anteromedial surface of the dorsal shield has distinctive carinate sculpture (see Fig. 3 ), which is not known in the other species of the genus. In the other congeneric species, this surface is smooth or variously reticulate, and only in Alliphis bakeri Arutunian, 1992 more longitudinally striated. Alliphis carinatus can be easily distinguished from A. bakeri also by the length of vertical setae j1 (j1=1/3xj 2 in new species, j1=j 2 in A. bakeri ), the length of dorsal shield setae (up to 40 Μm in new species, up to 14 Μm in A. bakeri ), and the shape of sternal shield (subquadrate in new species, subrectangular in A. bakeri ).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Alliphis carinatus, female. 1. Dorsal idiosoma; 2. Ventral idiosoma; 3. Epistome; 4. Hypostome; 5. Chelicera. Scale bars 100 Μm (Figs 1 – 2), 50 Μm (Figs 3 – 5).

FIGURES 6 – 7. Alliphis carinatus, female. 6. Dorsal shield; 7. Dorsal and lateral setae of femur to tarsus of legs III and IV. Scale bars 100 Μm (Fig. 6), 50 Μm (Fig. 7).