Atractides markaziensis Pesic, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pesic, Vladimir
name: Saboori, Alireza
name: Asadi, Mahdieh
name: Vafaei, Reza
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Hygrobatidae
Atractides
Atractides markaziensis

description: Atractides markaziensis Pesic sp. nov.
(Figs. 1–9)
Type material: Holotype: male, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid; Iran: IR53 Markazi Province, Eskan spring 30 km after Shahzand city, ca. 1780 m asl., 21.07.2003, leg. Pesic. Paratypes: 1 males, 4 females, same data as holotype, 1 male and 1 female of these dissected and mounted on Hoyer's fluid.
Other material: IR51 Markazi Province, Bolagh spring, 10 km after Shahzand city (in Shahzand to Pole Doab road), ca. 1780 m asl., 21.07.2003, leg. Pesic (2/3/0); IR54 Markazi Province, Aman Abad spring 12 km SE from Arak (in Arak to Khomein road), 22.07.2003, leg. Pesic (2/3/0); IR28 Isfahan Province, little stream near Rahmat Abad Dam, village Domab (near Alavijeh,on road to Khansar), 31.07.2003, leg. Pesic (1/0/0).
Diagnosis: dorsal integument: finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. I­L­5 elongated, dorsal and ventral margins subparallel, S­1 and S­2 close to each other, I­L­6 relatively short, sausage­shaped. Genital field: Ac in an obtuse triangle, subtriangular in shape; excretory pore: smooth; Vgl­1: not fused to Vgl­2. Palp: strong sexual dimorphism, the sword seta is situated between the ventral hairs, the proximoventral hair of P­4 thicker than the distoventral hair.
Description
Male (measurements of paratypes are given in parentheses): Length of idiosoma 707 (686–743), width 571 (564–593). Dorsally the integument is finely striated; muscle attachments: unsclerotized. Coxal field: length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 410 (373); Cx­3 width 465 (462), Cx­1+2 width 362 (362); Cx­1+2 medial suture 123 (123) in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 280 (279); posterior margin Cx­1 medially straight, apodemes of Cx­2 forming an acute angle. (Fig. 1). Measurements of mouthparts: chelicera 286 in length, claw 86 in length; palp total length 338 (343), dorsal length of single segments: P­
1 34 (36.5), P­2 80 (81), P­3 81 (83), P­4108 (106), P­5 35 (36); relative length (% total length) of single segments: P­110.6 (10.7), P­2 23.7 (23.6), P­3 24.0 (24.2), P­4 32.0 (31.0), P­5 10.4 (10.5); length ratio P­2/P­4 is 0.74 (0.76); palp (Figs. 4­5): ventral margin P­2 with a ventrodistal protrusion, P­3 slightly concave, P­4 strongly stout, the proximoventral hair thicker than distoventral hair, sword seta curved and inserted between ventral hairs. Genital field (Fig. 2): Ac in an obtuse triangle, subtriangular in shape; 134.6 (137.5) in length, 144.2 (144.2) in width, Ac­1­3 length 44.2 (40.4)­43.2 (42.7)­49 (48); excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­2.
I­L (Fig. 3): I­L­5 dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel, S­2 enlarged, I­L­6 short, sausage­shaped (only slightly thickened basally); I­L­3/4/5 forming strongly developed distal sheaths each covering the base of the following segment; I­L­5 dorsal length 210 (221), I­L­5 ventral length 154 (152), ratio dorsal length I­L­5/ventral length 1.36 (1.45), I­L­5 central height 57 (59), ratio dorsal length I­L­5/central height 3.68 (3.74), S­1 length 89 (91), ratio length S­1/width 11.4 (8.9), S­2 length 66.6 (68), ratio length S­2/ width 6.05 (5.3), distance between sword setae of I­L­5 18 (18); ratio length S­1/2 1.34 (1.34); I­L­6 length 128 (130.8), I­L­6 central height 21.8 (22), ratio length I­L­6 /central height 5.9 (5.95); ratio length I­L­5/6 1.63 (1.69)
Female: Length of idiosoma 1071, width 828. Dorsally the integument is finely striated. Coxal field (Fig. 6): length between anterior end of first coxae and posterior end of fourth coxae 454; Cx­3 width 565, Cx­1+2 width 423; Cx­1+2 medial suture 134.6 in length; distance from lateralmost tips of Cx­2 to the medioposterior edge of Cx­1+2 327. Measurements of mouthparts: chelicera 311 in length, claw 92 in length; palp total length 410.5, dorsal length and relative length (% total length, in parentheses) of single segments: P­1 40 (9.7), P­2 98 (23.9), P­3 111.5 (27.2), P­4 121 (29.5), P­5 40 (9.7); length ratio P­2/ P­4is 0.81; palp (Fig. 7): ventral margin of P­2 with rounded distal protrusion; sword seta of P­4 between ventral hairs. Genital field (Fig. 8): medial margin of genital plates with abrupt concavity on the level of Ac­2; genital field 219 in length, 238.5 in width, individual genital plate 169 in length; Ac­1­3 length 56­63­61; excretory pore smooth; Vgl­1: separated from Vgl­2.
I­L (Fig. 9): I­L­5 dorsal length 271, I­L­5 ventral length 196, ratio dorsal length I­L­5 /ventral length 1.38, I­L­5 central height 68, ratio dorsal length I­L­ 5/central height 4.0, S­ 1 length 101, ratio length S­1/width 9.8, S­2 length 77, ratio length S­2/ width 5.65, distance between sword setae of I­L­5 18; ratio length S­1/2 1.31; I­L­6 length 161.5, I­L­6 central height 24, ratio length I­L­6 /central height 6.73; ratio length I­L­5/6 1.68.
Discussion: The combination of a strong sexual dimorphism in the shape of P­2, unsclerotized excretory pore, unfused Vgl­1/2, relatively short I­L­ 6 in both sexes (L I­L­ 5/6>1.6), setae S­1/2 rather close to each other (distance<20 m), Atractides markaziensis sp. nov. is similar to Atractides pennatus (K.Viets, 1920), A. fonticolus (K.Viets, 1920) and A. legeri (Motas, 1927). From the aforementioned species, A. markaziensis sp. nov., is easily distinguished in a densely striated, not lineated integument. As compared with A. pennatus (in parentheses data from Gerecke, 2003), A. markaziensis sp. nov. is characterized by the following characters: S­2 more stout, L/W<6.5 (L/W>7.0), I­L­5 more stout in female, L/HB<4.3 (L/HB>4.3). The most important difference between A. pennatus and A. markaziensis sp. nov., is found in the P­4: in the male of A. pennatus both ventral hair insertions of P­4 are far proximally, while in the male of A. markaziensis sp. nov. the distoventral hair of P­4 is inserted in the distal half of the segment Moreover, the sword seta is located anteriorly from the distoventral hair in A. pennatus, while it is located between the ventral hairs in A. markaziensis sp. nov.
Atractides markaziensis shares the presence of strongly developed sheaths at the distal margins of I­L­3­4­5 with A. legeri and A. pennatus. Moreover, A. markaziensis sp. nov. differs from A. legeri (in parentheses data from Gerecke 2003]) in the more slender and longer I­L­6, L I­L­5/6> 1.7 in both sexes (L I­L­5/6 1.75 in male, 2.4 in female), the tongue­shaped mediocaudal edge of Cx­1+2 (in both sexes mediocaudal margin Cx­1+2 indented or concave in A. legeri), the male genital field with convex anterior margin (anterior and posterior margins weakly indented in A. legeri), P­2 without denticulation on the ventral protrusion (P­2 ventrodistally with a longitudinal line separating a medial hump with three fine denticles, from a lateral, smooth elevation), the sword seta of P­4 curved (slender, not curved). Further differences are found in the male P­4, with proximoventral hair of P­4 more thicker (normal in shape and slender in A. legeri and A. fonticolus) than distoventral in A. markaziensis sp. nov.
Atractides fonticolus is characterized by the following features (Gerecke 2003): fused Vgl­1/ 2 in males (unfused in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), in males ventrodistal projection of P­2 blunt and with rugose­denticulated surface (strongly protruding and smooth in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), less distanced setae S­1­2,> 15 m (18 m in A. markaziensis sp. nov.), setae S­1/2 shorter, in particular S­2 short and thick, L/W<5.0 (L/W>5.0 in A. markaziensis sp. nov.) and the genital field with Ac more reduced in size, acetabula maximum diametar <40 m (> 40 m in male,> 50 m in female in A. markaziensis).
Etymology: The species is named for its occurrence in Markazi Province.
Biology: Atractides markaziensis sp. nov. is a crenobiontic species, which inhabits springs at higher elevations.
Distribution: Iran, only known from the Markazi Province.
description: Published as part of Pesic, Vladimir, Saboori, Alireza, Asadi, Mahdieh & Vafaei, Reza, 2004, Studies on water mites of the family Hygrobatidae (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Iran, I. The water mite genus Atractides Koch, with the description of five new species, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 495 on pages 3-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.157855