Pachylaelaps (Pachylaelaps) armiger Özbek & Mašán 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Özbek, Hasan Hüseyin
name: Mašán, Peter
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Pachylaelapidae
Pachylaelaps
Pachylaelaps armiger

description: Pachylaelaps (Pachylaelaps) armiger sp. nov.
(Figs 24‒38)
Type specimens examined. Holotype female—NE Turkey, Erzincan Province, Geyikli Village (39°43'N, 39°40'E), altitude 1430 m, leaf litter under Salix sp., 19 May 2012. Paratypes: one female (deposited in IZ SAV)— with the same data as in holotype; two females—with the same data as in holotype, 30 May 2017; five females (of which one deposited in IZ SAV) — E Turkey, Tunceli Province, Pülümür District, Uzuntarla Village, leaf litter under Quercus sp., 25 May 2017. The holotype and paratypes are deposited at the Acarology Laboratory of Erzincan University, Turkey; two paratypes are deposited at the Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava (indicated as IZ SAV).
Diagnosis. Dorsal setae relatively short: dorsocentral j- and J-setae with their tips not exceeding bases of following seta. Openings of slit-like glandular poroids gdZ1 and gdS4 with separate position on posterolateral margins of dorsal shield. Prestigmatic section of peritremes long, with anterior tips reaching dorsal surface between setae z1 and z2. Soft integument with 15 pairs of setae. Cheliceral digits polydentate. Trochanter III with large posterolateral projection. Sperm induction system with tubular components well developed: tubes hyaline, flattened, progressively narrowed apically and usually curved distally.
Description. Female.
Dorsal idiosoma (Fig. 25). Dorsal shield 715‒815 µm long and 405‒455 µm wide, suboval and oblong (length/ width 1.7‒1.96), delicately and evenly reticulate on whole surface, and bearing 30 pairs of smooth and needleshaped dorsal setae. Setae J5 strongly reduced in length, vestigial microsetae; setae z1 short, 20‒26 µm long; other setae relatively well developed, similar in length and uniform. Length and spacing of some selected dorsal shield setae as follows: j1 45‒53 µm, j4‒j6, and z5 50‒60 µm, other setae 60‒80 µm, length of j5 similar or shorter than distance between j5-z5, and length of J1 similar or shorter than distance between J1-J2. Two posterolateral poroid structures (gdZ1 and gdS4) with their openings slit-like, separate and placed approximately between setae Z2 and S4.
Ventral idiosoma (Fig. 26). Sternal shield 277‒290 µm long, proportionally 1.02‒1.15 longer than genitiventral shield, with slightly concave anterior margin and two small projections close to bases of sternal setae st1. Genitiventral shield slightly longer than wide or subequal in length and width (length 235‒278 µm, width 230‒277 µm, length/width 1‒1.07). Anal shield subtriangular, 111‒128 µm long and 138‒172 µm wide (length/width 0.65‒0.80); anus with three circum-anal setae situated close to posterior margin of shield. Peritremes normally developed, relatively long, with anterior end reaching dorsal surface between setae z1 and z2. Peritrematal shields with weak longitudinal sculptural lines, other ventral shields distinctly and evenly reticulate and usually delicately punctate on surface. Metapodal platelets minuscule, free and well separate from peritrematal shields. Lateral soft integument with seven pairs of marginal setae (r6, R1, R3‒R7). Ventral soft integument with eight pairs of opisthogastric setae (JV2‒JV5, ZV2‒ZV5). Ventrally placed setae similar to those on dorsal idiosoma.
Spermathecal apparatus (Figs 28, 37, 38). Tubes of sperm induction system relatively well developed but weakly sclerotised, hyaline, flattened, with broader base and narrowed distal part; basal section widely abutting to inner anterolateral margin of coxa IV; distal part usually curved and irregularly formed, sometimes straightened inward.
Gnathosomal structures (Figs 24, 27, 29, 30, 34). Corniculi elongated and horn-like; laciniae densely pilose, lanceolate, longer than corniculi; deutosternum slightly widened anteriorly, with six transverse rows of denticles; subcapitular setae smooth and needle-shaped: setae h1 longest, h2 similar in length to pc, and shorter than h3 (Fig. 29). Epistome with wide, subtriangular and marginally serrate base, and central projection; projection long and narrow, smooth, with inconspicuous neck and bifurcate brush-like apex; each furca delicately serrate apically, with a row of 1‒5 minute prongs (Fig. 30). Chelicerae pincer-like, with relatively short and robust polydentate digits; fixed digit 94‒100 µm long, having bidentate terminal hook, one robust distal tooth associated with minute pilus dentilis, and 10‒15 small and sharp teeth on masticatory area; movable digit 92‒105 µm long, 42‒48% of the length of medial segment (210‒220 µm), armed with simple hook and 7‒9 sharp teeth, including the biggest one with distal position (Figs 24, 27, 34).
Legs (Figs 31‒33, 35, 36). Leg setation normal for genus (Mašán, 2007). Tarsus II with two spur-like distal setae, pl1 and pl2 (Figs 32, 35). Femur II with small spine-like process and associated seta on distal ventral surface (Figs 33, 35). Trochanter III with conspicuous bump-shaped projection directed backward (Figs 31, 36).
Etymology. The specific name of the new species is derived from the Latin words " arma " (instrument of war, arm) and " gerō " (carry or bear), and it alludes to the fact that the chelicerae of these mites are heavily armed with sharp teeth.
Taxonomic notes. Mašán (2007) divided the European members of the subgenus Pachylaelaps into five clusters of species. In his classification scheme, Pachylaelaps (Pachylaelaps) armiger could be classified as a species of the bellicosus group, which is representated by Pachylaelaps bellicosus Berlese, 1920 and Pachylaelaps multidentatus Evans & Hyatt, 1956. The bellicosus group is characterised by the separate position of slit-like poroid structures gdZ1 and gdS4 on the dorsal shield, multidentate cheliceral digits, weakly sclerotised and hyaline tubiform structures of sperm induction system, and males apparently absent. The new species can be easily distinguished from both above mentioned congeners especially by the presence of large bump-like projection on posterior surface of trochanter III. This conspicuous structure is easily detectable and not found in its relatives in the species group, including Pachylaelaps mandibularis Moraza & Peña, 2005 previously synonymised with P. bellicosus by Mašán in 2007 (Moraza, pers. comm).
description: Published as part of Özbek, Hasan Hüseyin & Mašán, Peter, 2018, A new species and subgenus of Pachylaelaps Berlese from Turkey (Acari: Pachylaelapidae), pp. 481-492 in Zootaxa 4418 (5) on pages 486-490, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4418.5.5, http://zenodo.org/record/1245022