Aceria cheiradeniae, Lotfollahi, Parisa, Irani-Nejad, Karim Haddad, Khanjani, Mohamad, Moghadam, Mohamad & Lillo, Enrico De, 2012

Lotfollahi, Parisa, Irani-Nejad, Karim Haddad, Khanjani, Mohamad, Moghadam, Mohamad & Lillo, Enrico De, 2012, Two new eriophyoid mite species (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) on Euphorbia spp. (Euphorbiaceae) from Iran, Zootaxa 3556, pp. 55-60 : 56

Aceria cheiradeniae n. sp.

( Fig. 1 )

Description. FEMALE (n = 7). Body vermiform, 158 (158?187), 65 (60?70) wide. Gnathosoma 20 (18?22) projecting obliquely downwards, chelicerae 15 (14?17), setae d 7 (6?8) unbranched. Prodorsal shield 38 (37?38) including anteromedian lobe, 54 (53?55) wide, semi-elliptical in anterior shape with an anteromedian lobe 6 (5?7) over gnathosomal base. Shield pattern composed of median line at about posterior half of prodorsal shield, complete admedian lines and two pairs of short submedian lines at anterior half of prodorsal shield; lines appear composed of a strict sequence of dashes, in part; with many dashes and granules on lateral sides and among lines on posterior half of prodorsal shield. Tubercles sc on rear shield margin 25 (23?27) apart, setae sc 47 (41?57) directed backwards and divergently. Leg I 43 (42?45), femur 10 (10?12), genu 5 (5?8), tibia 10, tarsus 10, ω 9 (9?10) distally slightly enlarged, empodium simple, 6 (5?6), 5-rayed; setae bv 11 (9?11), setae l ′ 23 (22?27), setae l ′ 10 (8?10), setae ft ′ 18 (16?20), setae ft ′ 25 (23?30). Leg II 36 (35?37), femur 10 (10–13), genu 5 (5?6), tibia 9 (8?9), tarsus 10 (9?11), ω 9 (7?10) distally slightly enlarged, empodium simple, 5 (5?6), 5-rayed; setae bv 10 (10?15), setae l ′ 13 (11?14), setae ft ′ 9 (7?10), setae ft ′ 26 (24?30). Coxae with lines and granules; setae 1b 10 (10?12), tubercles 1b 16 (13?17) apart, setae 1a 22 (19?27), tubercles 1a 10 (10?14) apart, setae 2a 45 (44?50), tubercles 2a 27 (26?30) apart. Prosternal apodeme 6 (5?6). Opisthosoma dorsally rounded, annuli subequal dorsoventrally; 76 (76?89) dorsal semiannuli, 90 (87?99) ventral semiannuli (counted from first annulus after coxae II); 8 semiannuli between coxae and genital area. Microtubercles placed on rear margin of annuli; triangular-shaped on dorsal side, rounded on ventral side. Setae c2 31 (26?43) on ventral semiannulus 14 (12?14), setae d 57 (48?61) on ventral semiannulus 30 (27?35); setae e 25 (25?35) on ventral semiannulus 53 (49?60); setae f 22 (22?28) on ventral semiannulus 84 (80?92); 6 (6–7) annuli before anal lobe; last 4 annuli with elongated and linear microtubercles. Setae h2 50 (50?63), very fine at tip; setae h1 4 (3?4). Genital coverflap 14 (12?15), 34 (30?35) wide, with 17 (16?17) striae; 3?4 transversal rows of granules at base of coverflap; setae 3a 22 (20?25) apart, 20 (20?24).

MALE. Not found.

Type host plant. Euphorbia cheiradenia Boiss. et Hohen (Euphorbiaceae) , spurge.

Relation to the host plant. Vagrant on leaves; no apparent damage was observed.

Type locality. Kandovan, Iran, 37°47'31''N, 46°14'57''E, about 2,243 m above sea level, 1 July 2010, coll. P. Lotfollahi.

Type material. Holotype specimen on a single microscope slide (EC-A10-51); paratypes: 6 specimens mounted on separate microscope slides.

Other material. Mites preserved in Oudemans’ fluid as extracted from the same sample as the type specimens.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the genitive case of the host plant species name, cheiradenia .

Differential diagnosis. The new species differs from Aceria dalmatina (Nalepa) which was collected on Euphorbia characias L. spp. wulfenii (Hoppe ex W.D.J. Koch) Radcl.-Sm. and associated with flower deformation ( Nalepa 1915). The prodorsal shield of A. dalmatina is provided with complete admedian and submedian lines while no median line was detected on it. In contrast, the prodorsal shield of A. cheiradeniae sp. n. shows a median line on about its posterior half, two pairs of short submedian lines on its anterior half and complete admedian lines. Aceria cheiradeniae sp. n. is relatively close also to Aceria solcentaureae de Lillo, Cristofaro & Kashefi, which was collected from Centaurea solstitialis L. (de Lillo et al. 2003). Aceria cheiradeniae sp. n. is provided with prodorsal shield lines apparently composed of a sequence of linear granules while the prodorsal shield of A. solcentaureae shows lines largely continuous. In addition, the median and submedian lines of A. cheiradeniae sp. n. appear to be shorter than those of A. solcentaureae .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Schematic drawings of Aceria cheiradeniae n. sp.: AD. Prodorsal shield; CG. Female coxigenital region; DO. Dorsal view of annuli; em. Empodium; IG. Internal female genitalia; L 1. Leg I; PV. Ventral view of posterior opisthosoma; VO. Ventral view of annuli. Scale bar: 10 μm for AD, CG, IG, PV; 5 μm for DO, L 1, VO; 2. 5 μm for em.