# A new species of the genus Paralycus from Fujian, China

Yun Xu, Yu-Zhen Zhu, Jie-Qin Wu, Fei-Ping Zhang

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Yun Xu, Yu-Zhen Zhu, Jie-Qin Wu, Fei-Ping Zhang. A new species of the genus Paralycus from Fujian, China. Acarologia, 2020, 60 (2), pp.481-487. 10.24349/acarologia/20204377. hal-02626196

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# A new species of the genus *Paralycus* from Fujian, China

Yun Xuª, Yu-Zhen Zhuª, Jie-Qin Wuª, Fei-Ping Zhangª

## Original research

### ABSTRACT

A new oribatid mite species of the family Pediculochelidae, *Paralycus nortoni* sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on adult specimens collected from barks of dead *Pinus massoniana* Lamb. infested by *Monochamus alternatus* in Fuzhou city, China. This new species described here is the fourth species of the genus *Paralycus* in China. An updated key to the species of the genus *Paralycus* is provided.

**Keywords** taxonomy; oribatid mite; Pediculochelidae; Acari; morphology

**Zoobank** http://zoobank.org/BC239A46-D75A-4812-952E-3A60CDD725D9

### Introduction

The family Pediculochelidae has been associated with two mite suborders Prostigmata and Astigmata. It was erected by Lavoipierre (1946) and placed in the family Tarsonemidae (Prostigmata), and then proposed to be a member of Astigmata by Baker and Wharton (1952). Krantz (1978) suggested that it belonged to the primitive Pachygnathoidea but didn't provide supportive discussion. Norton *et al.* (1983) proposed based on a cladistic analysis that it represented a sister-group of the Haplochthoniidae and belonged to the superfamily Cosmochthonioidea (Oribatida). To date, one genus and seven species have been described (Schatz *et al.* 2011): *Paralycus chongqingensis* Fan, Li & Xuan, 1996 from *Auricularia* sp. in China, *P. lavoipierrei* (Price, 1973) from soil in California, *P. longior* Fan, Li & Xuan, 1996 from lily fruits in China, *P. parasiti* Zhang & Li, 2001 from *Coccinella septempunctata* in China, *P. parvulus* (Price, 1973) from soil in California, *P. pyrigerus* (Berlese, 1905) from soil in Italy, and *P. raulti* (Lavoipierre, 1946) from bees in South Africa (Norton *et al.* 1983). In this paper, we describe and illustrate a new species of this family, which is the fourth record in Chinese fauna. An updated key to the species of the genus *Paralycus* is also provided.

### Materials and methods

Barks of *Pinus massoniana* Lamb. attacked by *Monochamus alternatus* were collected in Minhou country, Fuzhou city, Fujian province, China. The specimens were extracted from the barks using a Berlese funnel and separated under a stereomicroscope. All mites removed were cleared in lactic acid, and afterwards mounted in Hoyer's medium. Specimens were examined at 400x magnification by using differential interference contrast of a Leica DM5000B compound microscope. The studied materials were deposited in the National Zoological Museum of China, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (NZMC) and the Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU), Fuzhou, China (Zhang 2018). All measurements are given in micrometers (µm). The morphological terminology used in this paper is mostly based on that developed by Norton & Behan-Pelletier (2009).

Received 01 October 2019

Accepted 08 May 2020

Published 26 May 2020

Corresponding author

Fei-Ping Zhang: fpzhang1@163.com

Academic editor

Baumann, Julia

DOI

10.24349/acarologia/20204377

ISSN 0044-586X (print)

ISSN 2107-7207 (electronic)

Copyright

Xu Y. et al.

Distributed under

Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0

<footnote>ªCollege of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Ecological Forests, Fujian Province University, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.</footnote>
**Family Pediculochelidae Lavoipierre, 1946**

**Genus Paralycus Womersley, 1944**

*Paralycus* Womersley, 1944. Type species: *Alicus pyrigerus* (Berlese, 1905); Norton, OConnor & Johnston, 1983.

*Pediculochelus* Lavoipierre, 1946. Type species: *Pediculochelus raulti* Lavoipierre, 1946; Price, 1973.

**Paralycus nortoni** sp. nov.

Zoobank: CCED3053-E61E-484C-8161-BD3F45F11020

(Figures 1–3)

**Diagnosis** — Adult female. Minute and elongate, weakly sclerotized. Idiosoma with a distinct humeral sulcus; propodosoma with 5 pairs of setae and a single pair of clavate bothridial organs; notogaster divided into 4 regions by 3 transverse dorsal sutures, covered with fine longitudinal striae. Venter each with one pair of setae between coxeae I, coxeae II, coxeae III and without setae between coxeae IV. Genital region with 2 pairs of discs and five pairs of genital setae. Setae $g_1, g_2$ and $g_3$ minute and subequal in length, $g_4$ and $g_5$ subequal in length and about twice as long as $g_1$. Claws absent on all tarsi, each tarsus with a minute empodial remnant and caruncle-like membrane.

**Type material** — Holotype Female, China, Minhou county, Fuzhou city, Fujian province, 17 Apr. 2019, by Yu-Zhen Zhu, Jie-Qin Wu and Yun Xu, *ex*. the barks of *Pinus massoniana* Lamb attacked by *Monochamus alternatus*. Paratypes: 1 female, same data as holotype.

**Type deposition** — The holotype and paratype were deposited in the National Zoological Museum of China, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (NZMC) and the Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU), respectively.

**Female** (n=2)

**Gastronotic region** (Fig. 1A): Body minute and elongate, colorless when alive. Length of gastronotic region 210–215, width 55–65. Prodorsum covered with shield-shaped plate in middorsal region, bearing 2 pairs of setae (*ro* and *le*); 3 pairs of setae (*exa*, *exp* and *in*) and one pair of clavate bothridial organs *ss* in the dorsolateral area of prodorsum. Setae *le* about twice as long as *ro*, *in* about twice as long as *exa*, and *exp* minute, lengths *ro* 13–14, *le* 30–31, *exa* 22–23, *exp* 5, *in* 42–44, *ss* 17. Notogaster divided into 4 regions by 3 transverse dorsal sutures. Notogaster covered with fine longitudinal striae, bearing 4 pairs of setae ($c_1, c_2, c_3$ and *cp*) in the region of segment C, 4 pairs of setae ($d_1, d_2, e_1$ and $e_2$) in the region of segment DE, 2 pairs of setae ($f_1$ and $f_2$) in the region of segment F, and 6 pairs of setae ($h_1, h_2, h_3, ps_1, ps_2$ and $ps_3$) in the region of segment H and PS. Lengths of notoastral setae $c_1$ 22–24, $c_2$ 28–29, $c_3$ 34–35, *cp* 29–34, $d_1$ 17–18, $d_2$ 24–26, $e_1$ 22–23, $e_2$ 24–27), $f_1$ 32–34, $f_2$ 32–39, $h_1$ 32–39, $h_2$ 37–39, $h_3$ 32–35, $ps_1$ 27, $ps_2$ 53–56, $ps_3$ 14–15.

**Gnathosoma** (Figs. 1B, 2A). Gnathobase with rutella and 4 pairs of setae along midventral line plus one seta proximal to trochanter on coxal base of palp. Palp simple, with 4 free segments, setal formula: 0, 2, 1, 7.

**Ventral region** (Figs. 1B, 2B). Venter each with one pair of setae between coxeae I, coxeae II, coxeae III and without setae between coxeae IV; setae between coxeae II about twice as long as setae between coxeae I, setae between coxeae III minute. Venter of opisthosoma with 2 pairs of acetabula, 5 pairs of genital setae ($g_1, g_2, g_3, g_4$ and $g_5$), 3 pairs of adanal setae (*ad*₁, *ad*₂ and *ad*₃). Setae $g_1, g_2, g_3$ minute and subequal in length, $g_4$, and $g_5$ subequal and about twice as long as $g_1$. Lengths: $g_1$ 3, $g_2$ 3–4, $g_3$ 3–4, $g_4$ 7–8, $g_5$ 8, $ad_1$ 14–15, $ad_2$ 53–58, $ad_3$ 11–13.

**Legs** (Fig. 3). Legs relatively short, measurements (total length from trochanter to tarsus, pretarsus excluded): I 50–55, II 45–48, III 45–48, and IV 50–52. Leg structure simple with highly visible segments, as shown in the Fig. 3. Claws absent on all tarsi, each tarsus with a minute empodial remnant and caruncle-like membrane. Setation of legs I–IV (from trochanter
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1** *Paralycus nortoni* sp. nov. (adult female). A – dorsal view; B – ventral view.</figcaption></figure>

to tarsus, solenidia in brackets): leg I 0-2-4-3 (1)-8 (1); leg II 0-2-3-3 (1)-7 (1); leg III 1-2-0-3(1)-5 and leg IV 0-2-0-2-5. Dorsal, ventral and lateral setae on trochanter, femora, genua and tibiae I–IV simple and filiform. Solenidion φ on tibiae I–II elongate, attenuate, on tibia III baculiform. Unguinal setae *u* and proral setae *p* on tarsus I–IV simple. Only *p''* on tarsus I; seta *s* on tarsus I simple. Solenidion ω on tarsi I–II baculiform, ω on I about twice the length
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2** *Paralycus nortoni* sp. nov. (adult female). A – ventral view of gnathosoma; B – genital-anal region.</figcaption></figure>

of that on II.

Male unknown.

**Etymology** — The species is named after Dr. Roy A. Norton, a distinguished acarologist who made significant contributions to the systematics of Oribatida.

**Remarks** — *Paralycus nortoni* sp. nov. is easily distinguishable from other species by the following features: Venter without setae between coxae IV (vs. with one pair of setae between
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3** *Paralycus nortoni* sp. nov. (adult female, right side legs in dorsal view). A – leg I; B – leg II; C – leg III; D – leg IV.</figcaption></figure>
coxea IV in *P. chongqingensis*, *P. lavoipierrei*, *P. longior*, *P. parasiti* and *P. raulti*); venter of opisthosoma with 5 pairs of genital setae (vs. with 3 pairs of genital setae in *P. chongqingensis*, *P. lavoipierrei* and 4 pairs of genital setae in *P. parasiti*, *P. parvulus* and *P. raulti*); trochanters 0-0-1-0 (vs. 0-0-0-0 in *P. parvulus*); genua 4-3-0-0 (vs. 4-2-0-0 in *P. lavoipierrei* and *P. parvulus*); tarsi 7+ω-6+ω-5-5 (vs. 9+ω-6+ω-5-5 in *P. chongqingensis* and *P. longior*). The identification characters of *P. pyrigerus* are not listed because the morphological details were not given by Berlese (1905), but the differences in size (213 µm for *P. nortoni* sp. nov. vs. 170 µm for *P. pyrigerus*), habitat (barks of pine for *P. nortoni* sp. nov. vs. soil for *P. pyrigerus*) and collection locality (China for *P. nortoni* sp. nov. vs. Italy for *P. pyrigerus*) suggest that *P. nortoni* sp. nov. and *P. pyrigerus* are distinct species.

The known species of *Paralycus* are described from soil, bees, *Auricularia* sp., lily fruits, and *Coccinella septempunctata*. Among them, two species are described as phoretic mites: *P. parasiti* and *P. raulti* (Berlese, 1905; Lavoipierre, 1946; Price, 1973; Fan *et al.* 1996; Zhang and Li, 2001). Despite of being collected from the barks of beetle-infested pines, the new mite species *P. nortoni* sp. nov. was not detected on the eggs, instars or mature beetles at the site, nor obvious interaction was noted between them. Up to date, there are five species of mesostigmatid mites, including *Dendrolaelaps fukikoea*, *D. unispinatus*, *Proctolaelaps hystrix*, *Mucroseius nipponensis* and *M. squamosus*, which were found to coexist in the pupal chambers of the beetle *M. alternatus* (Tamura and Enda, 1980; Kinn, 1987; Lindquist and Wu, 1991); and one species of prostigmatid mite *Paracarophenax alternatus* distributed around the coaxal cavity of the adult and feeding on the egg of *M. alternatus* (Xu *et al.* 2018). No significant morphological body adaptations to aid in phoresy, such as attachment devices (hook-like claws on legs), were found neither on this new species, nor on *P. parasiti* and *P. raulti*. With that said, it remains an interesting topic whether this new species is phoretic on beetles or share the same host preference with beetles.

**Notes** — In the holotype, one seta $h_3$ was duplicated ($h_3$ and $h_{3x}$ in Fig. 1B and 2B)

**Key to species of the genus *Paralycus***

The incompletely described species *P. pyrigerus* (Berlese, 1905) is not included.

<table><tr><td>1. Venter without setae between coxea IV</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>— venter with one pair of setae between coxea IV</td><td>3</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>2. Venter of opisthosoma with 5 pairs of genital setae; trochanters with 0-0-1-0 setae; genua with 4-3-0-0 setae</td><td><i>Paralycus nortoni</i> sp. nov.</td></tr><tr><td>— Venter of opisthosoma with 4 pairs of genital setae; trochanters with 0-0-0-0 setae; genua with 4-2-0-0 setae</td><td><i>P. parvulus</i> (Price, 1973)</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>3. Tarsi with 9+ω-6+ω-5-5 setae</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>— Tarsi with 7+ω-6+ω-5-5 setae</td><td>5</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>4. Venter of opisthosoma with 3 pairs of genital setae, without setae $g_1$ and $g_3$; setae $g_2$ about half of the length of $g_4$ and $g_5$</td><td><i>P. chongqingensis</i> Fan, Li & Xuan, 1996</td></tr><tr><td>— Venter of opisthosoma with 5 pairs of genital setae; setae $g_2$ about half of the length of $g_4$ and two-thirds of $g_5$</td><td><i>P. longior</i> Fan, Li & Xuan, 1996</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>5. Venter of opisthosoma with 3 pairs of genital setae, without setae $g_1$ and $g_3$; genua with 4-2-0-0 setae</td><td><i>P. lavoipierrei</i> (Price, 1973)</td></tr><tr><td>— Venter of opisthosoma with 4 pairs of genital setae, without setae $g_3$; genua with 4-3-0-0 setae</td><td>6</td></tr></table>

<table><tr><td>6. Setae 2a between coxea II elongate, reaching the base of setae 1a between coxea I; setae 2a about twice as long as 1a</td><td><i>P. parasiti</i> Zhang & Li, 2001</td></tr></table>
— Setae 2a between coxeae II short, not reaching the base of setae 1a between coxeae I; setae 2a as long as 1a .................................................... *P. raulti* (Lavoipierre, 1946)

## Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Prof. Qing-Hai Fan (Plant Health & Environment Laboratory, Ministry for Primary Industries, Auckland, New Zealand) for help with references, to Associate Prof. Mei-Xiang Wu (Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China) for her continued support in lab facility; to the master student Ci-Ding Lu (College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China) for sample collection. This project was supported by The National Key Research and Development Program (2017YFD0600105) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M612113).

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