Torrenticola lukai, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Valdecasas, Antonio G.
name: García-Jimenez, Ricardo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Torrenticolidae
Torrenticola
Torrenticola lukai

description: Torrenticola lukai sp. nov.   
(Figs. 1–3, 7A,C, 8A,C, 9A,D)  
 Torrenticola lundbladi Pešić, 2004, nec K. Viets, 1930   
 Type material. Holotype male (NHMB), dissected and slide mounted, Montenegro, stream Mrtvıca near village Velje Duboko (42°46'47''N, 19°16'56''E; 820 m a.s.l.), 13.viii.2010. Paratypes: 9/4/0, same data as holotype, 2/2/0 (mounted); 4/1/0 in voucher collection for molecular study.   
 Further records. Montenegro: stream Mrtvica near village Mrtvo Duboko (42°43'N 19°21'E, 600 m a.s.l.), 11.vii.1999, Pešiċ “ Torrenticola lundbladi ” 2/0/0 (mounted); Komovi Mt., river Opasanica near Opasanica village (42°40'38''N, 19°32'40''E; 1130 m a.s.l.) 12.viii.1998, Pešiċ “ Torrenticola lundbladi ” 1/0/0 (mounted); ibid., 15.viii.1999, Pešiċ “ Torrenticola lundbladi ” 1/2/0 (mounted); stream Bistrica near Crkvine village (42°48'N, 19°27'E; 1122 m a.s.l.), 15.ix.2004 2/0/0 (mounted).   
 Diagnosis. Idiosoma large in size (L 850–1050 in males, 1000–1200 in females); shoulder platelets fused to dorsal plate, but suture line visible; area of primary sclerotization of the dorsal plate with two dorsoglandularia; posterior suture line of Cx-4 partly distinct; postgenital area large; excretory pore and Vgl–2 posterior to the line of primary sclerotization; distal margins of P-2 and -3 without denticles, ventral protuberance of P-4 unpaired, with one longer, and three shorter hairs; capitular rostrum relatively short and deep (L/H ratio 1.2–1.4). Male: median suture line of Cx-2+3 relatively long (140–160, L ratio Cx-1/Cx-2+3 2.1–2.5), genital field rectangular in shape.   
 Description. Male (holotype, in parentheses measurements of the paratypes, n = 2): Idiosoma (ventral view: Fig. 1B, 8A) L 969 (881–1018), W 760 (681–775); dorsal shield (Fig. 1A, 7A) L 850 (738–838), W 630 (563–668), L/W ratio 1.35 (1.26–1.31); dorsal plate 791 (694–794); frontal platelets L 181–183 (159–187), W 76–77 (63–75), L/W ratio 2.38 (2.48–2.6); capitular bay L 156 (130–159); Cx-1 total L 366 (309–367), Cx-1 mL 209 (178–208), Cx-2+3 mL 145 (140–145); ratio Cx-1 L/Cx-2+3 mL 2.52 (2.2–2.53); Cx-1 mL/Cx-2+3 mL 1.44 (1.28–1.43); genital field L/W 168 (152–169)/140 (122–145), L/W ratio 1.2 (1.17–1.25); ejaculatory complex as in Figure 2C, L 206 (205–260); distance genital field–excretory pore 191 (175–222), genital field–caudal idiosoma margin 278 (275–319); capitulum (Fıg. 2D–E, 9D) vL 294 (268–300); chelicera total L 361 (329); palp (Figs. 2A–B): total L 350 (300–345), dL: P-1, 43 (38–42); P-2, 109 (95–109); P-3, 69 (60–67); P-4, 109 (88–105); P-5, 20 (19–22); P-2/P-4 1.0 (1.04–1.08).   
Female (paratypes, n = 2): Idiosoma (ventral view: Fig. 3, BC) L 1075–1100, W 850–900; dorsal shield (Fig. 8C) L 916–988, W 715–725, L/W ratio 1.28–1.36; dorsal plate 853–913; frontal platelets L 190–203, W 78–92, L/ W ratio 2.07–2.52; capitular bay L 144–153; Cx-1 total L 370–383, Cx-1 mL 225–229, Cx-2+3 mL 45–52; ratio Cx-1 L/Cx-2+3 mL 7.37–8.2; Cx-1 mL/Cx-2+3 mL 4.4–5.0; genital field L/W 228–231/198–200, L/W ratio 1.14–1.17; distance genital field–excretory pore 269–284, genital field–caudal idiosoma margin 413–417; capitulum (Fig. 9A) vL 316; chelicera total L 375; palp: total L 350–370, dL: P-1, 44–49; P-2, 109–115; P-3, 68–72; P-4, 108–114; P-5, 20–21; P-2/P-4 ratio 1.01 (1.01).  
 Discussion. Pešiċ (2004) reported from northern Montenegro the presence of Torrenticola lundbladi (K. Viets, 1930), a species hitherto known only from Spain (K. Viets 1930, Lundblad 1956). The specimens closely resemble the latter species due to the longer medial suture of Cx-2+ 3 in male, a similar shape of ejaculatory complex and the rectangular shape of the male genital field (Pešiċ 2004). However, from a re-examination of the specimens in question and the study of newly collected material resulted fundamental differences, showing that populations from Montenegro, here described as T. lukai sp. nov., are not conspecific with T. lundbladi. Namely, as showed by Lundblad (1956), and confirmed by our new material from Spain, T. lundbladi clearly differs from the specimens from Montenegro in a longer and more slender capitular rostrum (compare Figs. 2D, E, 9A, D with 5D, F, 9B–C, E–F). Further differences include the indistinct posterior suture line of Cx- 4 in T. lundbladi.   
 Pešiċ et al. (2007) stated that the similar shape of ejaculatory complex and rectangular shape of the male genital field of the specimens from Montenegro indicate a close relationship to Torrenticola lesbica Di Sabatino & Gerecke, 2003, described from the island Lesbos, Greece (Di Sabatino et al. 2003) and later reported from the Eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey (Pešiċ et al. 2007) and Macedonia (Pešiċ et al. 2007). The latter species (in the following in the parentheses, data taken from Di Sabatino et al. 2003 and Pešiċ et al. 2007) can be distinguished from T. lukai sp. nov. in a shorter median suture line of Cx-2+ 3 in males (94–100, L ratio Cx-1/Cx-2+3 2.8–3.2), and a slightly less enlarged idiosoma in both sexes (750–850 in males, 850–950 in females).   
 Etymology. The species is named after Luka Pešiċ, an in 2012 two-year old son of the first author.   
 Habitat. Rhitrobiont; middle-order streams at elevation above 500 m a.s.l. (Fig. 4), preferably in riffle areas.   
 Distribution. Montenegro.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Valdecasas, Antonio G. & García-Jimenez, Ricardo, 2012, Simultaneous evidence for a new species of Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Montenegro, pp. 38-50 in Zootaxa 3515 on pages 40-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3515.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/282580