Phyllotetranychus hadii Mahdavi & Latifi & Asadi 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mahdavi, Sayed Mosayeb
name: Latifi, Malihe
name: Asadi, Mahdieh
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Prostigmata
Tenuipalpidae
Phyllotetranychus
Phyllotetranychus hadii

description: Phyllotetranychus hadii Mahdavi, Latifi and Asadi sp. nov.
(Figs 1–9)
Type material. Holotype, female, IRAN, Manujan-Kerman Province, 27°19′ N 57°30′ E, ex. Washingtonia filifera (Arecaceae), 20 September 2018, coll. S. M. Mahdavi.
Paratypes. Seven females, one male and one larva, same data as holotype.
Type deposition. All type specimens were deposited at SBUK except one female paratype deposited at ACASI.
Diagnosis. Female: most dorsal setae broadly orbicular to ovate, leaf-like; all dorsal setae with pseudovenation; dorsal setae v 2, c 1, c 3, d 1, e 1, and h 1 large, elongate (with e 1 shortest of these), lanceolate, tapering setae h 1 are much longer than, and obviously dissimilar in shape to, setae h 2; c 2 larger than d 2 and e 2; prodorsum cuticle with strong transverse pattern medially and fine oblique striae laterally; dorsal opisthosomal cuticle with irregular pattern medially, with cells formed in some areas; setation of legs I–IV: coxae 1-1-0-0; trochanters 1-1-1- 1; femora 4-4-0-0; genua 2-2-0-0; tibiae 4-4-2-2; tarsi 9(1 ω)-9(1 ω)-5-5; femur and genu I–II with small, broad, orbicular dorsal seta d, tibia I–II with dorsal seta d elongate, narrow, lanceolate. Male: anterior dorsal body setae (v 2 to setal row D) orbicular, posterior dorsal setae (setal row E to posterior) becoming elongate, lanceolate; Setation of legs I–IV: coxae 1-1-0-0; trochanters 1-1-1-1; femora 4-4-0-0; genua 2-2-0-0; tibiae 4-4-4-3; tarsi 10(2 ω)-10(2 ω)- 5-5; femur and genu I–II with dorsal seta d orbicular to obovate, tibia I–II with dorsal seta d elongate, narrow, lanceolate, tibia III–IV with dorsal seta d orbicular to obovate.
Description. FEMALE (Holotype). (n=7; Figs 1–3). Length of idiosoma (v 2 –h 1) 221–227 (225); width of idiosoma 185–193 (187).
Dorsum (Fig. 1): Dorsum with 16 pairs of setae broad orbicular to ovate, with pseudovenation; prodorsum cuticle with strong transverse pattern medially and fine oblique striae laterally; dorsal opisthosomal cuticle with irregular pattern medially, with cells formed in some areas; dorsal setae v 2 and h 1 elongate, lanceolate-falcate, tapering; setae h 1 are much longer than, and obviously dissimilar in shape to, setae h 2 and v 2 longer than longitudinal distance between setae v 2 –c 1; setae c 1, c 3, d 1 and e 1 elongate (with e 1 shortest of these), lanceolate, tapering; setae c 2 larger than d 2 and e 2; setae v 2 are longest and e 2 are the shortest dorsal setae; dorsolateral setae mostly orbicular; anterior margin of prodorsum with two pairs of prodorsal projections. Lengths of setae: v 2 116– 119 (118), sc 1 50–54 (53), sc 2 37–38 (37), c 1 114–121 (114), c 2 41–42 (41), c 3 68–135 (120), d 1 103–104 (104), d 2 31– 33 (32), d 3 66–69 (67), e 1 90–105 (91), e 2 27 (27), e 3 59 –62 (62), f 2 51–53 (53), f 3 40–43 (42), h 1 109–155 (111), h 2 47–49 (47). Distances between dorsal setae: v 2 –v 2 58 –59 (59), sc 1 –sc 1 99 (99), sc 2 –sc 2 161–163 (161), c 1 –c 1 57–62 (62), c 2 –c 2 121–126 (122), c 3 –c 3 175–177 (176), d 1 –d 1 62–75 (62), d 2 –d 2 96–98 (97), d 3 –d 3 168–169 (167), e 1 – e 1 46 (46), e 2 –e 2 99–98 (99), e 3 –e 3 159–162 (160), f 2 –f 2 151–154 (151), f 3 –f 3 129–131 (129), h 1 –h 1 26–29 (27), h 2 –h 2 83–90 (84). Venter (Fig. 2b) with broadly spaced coarse transverse striae between 1a–4a, and fine transverse striae between 4a–ag; one pair of aggenital setae (ag); two pairs of each genital setae (g 1–2) and pseudanal setae (ps 1–2). Lengths of setae: 1a 74–77 (76), 3a 12–16 (13), 4a 13–15 (13), ag 16–18 (18), g 1 24–25 (24), g 2 21–24 (24), ps 1 10–11 (10), ps 2 11–12 (11). Distances between setae: 1a–1a 24–25 (25), 3a–3a 53–55 (53), 4a–4a 40–43 (40), ag– ag 13 (13), g 1 –g 1 12–14 (12), g 2 –g 2 27–31 (27). Gnathosoma (Fig. 2a): Palp two-segmented; palp tibio-tarsus with one eupathidium ul'ζ 4–5 (5) and two tactile setae, palp femorogenu with one serrate seta (d). Ventral infracapitulum without any setae. Legs (Fig. 3): Setation of legs I–IV: coxae 1(1b)–1(2b)–0–0; trochanters 1(v')– 1(v')–1(v')–1(v'); femora 4(d, bv", v', l')–4(d, bv", v', l')–0–0; genua 2(d, l')–2(d, l')–0–0; tibiae 4(d, v', v", l')–4(d, v', v", l')–2(d, v')–2(v', v"); tarsi 9(ft', ft", ω", u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ, tc', tc")–9(ft', ft", ω", u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ, tc', tc")–5(ft', u', u", tc', tc")–5(ft', u', u", tc', tc"); solenidion on tarsus I ω" 8–9 (8), solenidion on tarsus II ω" 6–7 (7); dorsal seta d on femora and genua I–II orbicular; dorsal seta d on tibia I–II narrow, lanceolate; all pretarsi with true claws uncinate and empodium pad-like. Variation in setal counts on tibia III–IV as follows: tibia III with 3(d, v', v" present; l" absent) setae (n=1); tibia IV with 1(v') setae (n=2).
MALE. (n=1; Figs 4–6): Length of idiosoma (v 2 –h 1) 142; width of idiosoma 131.
Dorsum (Fig. 4): Prodorsum with smooth cuticle; opisthosoma with mostly smooth cuticle, except with band of transverse striae between setal rows D and E; anterior dorsal body setae (v 2 to setal row D) orbicular, posterior dorsal setae (setal row E to posterior) becoming elongate, lanceolate; anterior margin of prodorsum smoothly rounded, without prodorsal projections. Lengths of setae: v 2 30, sc 1 35, sc 2 22, c 1 33, c 2 21, c 3 25, d 1 22, d 2 19, d 3 36, e 1 33, e 2 25, e 3 50, f 2 43, f 3 58, h 1 43, h 2 58. Distances between dorsal setae: v 2 –v 2 49, sc 1 –sc 1 78, sc 2 –sc 2 122, c 1 –c 1 62, c 2 – c 2 106, c 3 –c 3 123, d 1 –d 1 61, d 2 –d 2 93, d 3 –d 3 112, e 1 – e 1 22, e 2 –e 2 87, e 3 –e 3 96, f 2 –f 2 50, f 3 –f 3 64, h 1 –h 1 5, h 2 –h 2 40. Venter (Fig. 5): with broadly spaced coarse transverse striae between 1a–3a and between 4a–ag, with band of fine transverse striae level with 3a–3a, and regions of smooth cuticle between coxae IV–IV and posterior to setae ag. Lengths of setae: 1a 58, 3a 14, 4a 17, ag 15, g 1 18, g 2 20, ps 1 18, ps 2 17. Distances between setae: 1a–1a 21, 3a–3a 45, 4a–4a 39, ag–ag 7, g 1 –g 1 8, g 2 –g 2 17. Length of aedeagus 290 (Fig. 5c). Gnathosoma: (Fig. 5b) similar to female with one eupathidium ul'ζ (4). Legs (Fig. 6): Setation of legs I–IV: coxae 1(1b)–1(2b)–0–0; trochanters 1(v')–1(v')–1(v')– 1(v'); femora 4(d, bv", v', l')– 4(d, bv", v', l')–0–0; genua 2(d, l')–2(d, l')–0–0; tibiae 4(d, v', v", l')–4(d, v', v", l')– 4(d, v', v", l')– 3(d, v', v"); tarsi 10(ft', ft", ω", ω', u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ, tc', tc")–10(ft', ft", ω", ω', u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ, tc', tc")–5(ft', u', u", tc', tc")–5(ft', u', u", ω', tc"); solenidia on tarsus I ω" (9), ω' (11), solenidia on tarsus II ω" (9), ω' (11); femur and genu I–II with dorsal seta d obovate; tibia I–II with dorsal seta d narrow, lanceolate; tibia III–IV with dorsal setae broad; all pretarsi with true claws uncinate and empodium pad-like.
LARVA. (n=1; Figs 7–9): Length of idiosoma (v 2 –h 1) 127; width of idiosoma 121.
Dorsum (Fig. 7): full complement of 16 dorsal setae similar to the adult; only dorsal setae v 2 are broadly orbicular, with pseudovenation; setae c 1 and d 1 narrowly lanceolate, and remaining dorsal setae small to minute, clavate. Prodorsum cuticle with striations transverse medially and longitudinal laterally; anterior margin of prodorsum with a pair of prodorsal projections. Lengths of setae: v 2 28, sc 1 6, sc 2 6, c 1 21, c 2 5, c 3 6, d 1 18, d 2 4, d 3 4, e 1 5, e 2 3, e 3 3, f 2 3, f 3 3, h 1 4, h 2 4. Distances between dorsal setae: v 2 –v 2 39, sc 1 –sc 1 67, sc 2 –sc 2 103, c 1 –c 1 44, c 2 –c 2 100, c 3 –c 3 111, d 1 –d 1 40, d 2 –d 2 89, d 3 –d 3 91, e 1 – e 1 30, e 2 –e 2 60, e 3 –e 3 64, f 2 –f 2 29, f 3 –f 3 32, h 1 –h 1 9, h 2 –h 2 13. Venter (Fig. 8): cuticle with fine transverse striations between setae 1a to coxa III. Lengths of setae: 1a 40, 3a 9, ps 1 2, ps 2 2. Distances between intercoxal setae: 1a–1a 29, 3a–3a 60. Gnathosoma (Fig. 8a): similar to female with one eupathidium ul'ζ (3). Legs (Figs. 9): Setation of legs I–III: coxae 0–0–0; trochanters 0–0–0; femora 3(d, bv", v')– 2(bv", v')–0; genua 1(l')–1(l')–0; tibiae 4(d, v', v", l')–4(d, v', v", l')–2(d, v'); tarsi 7(ft', ft", ω", u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ)–7(ft', ft", ω", u', u", p'ζ, p"ζ)–3(ft', u', u"); solenidion on tarsus I ω" (4), solenidion on tarsus II ω" (3); tibia I–II with dorsal seta d narrowly lanceolate; all pretarsi with true claws uncinate and empodium pad-like.
DEUTONYMPH, PROTONYMPH. Unknown.
Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mr. Sayed Hadi Mahdavi, brother of the senior author for his helpful comments about new methods of computer drawings.
Remarks. Phyllotetranychus hadii is easily separated from other species of this genus as follows: Female, 1. Dorsal setae v 2 are elongate, lanceolate-falcate, tapering in P. hadii sp. nov., whereas setae v 2 are broad and strongly ovate to rhombic in P. aegyptium and P. gawadii, and narrowly oblong in P. romaine; setae c 3 and h 1 are lanceolatefalcate, tapering in P. hadii vs. setae c 3 and h 1 broadly orbicular to weakly falcate in the other three species. 2. Dorsal setae h 1 are much longer than, and obviously dissimilar in shape to, setae h 2 in P. hadii, vs. setae h 1 and h 2 of similar shape and size to each other in the other species. 3. Setae c 3 and d 3 are dissimilar in shape and length to each other in P. hadii, vs. setae c 3 and d 3 of similar shape and length to each other in the other species. 4. Setation of coxae, femora and tibiae are different between P. hadii and P. gawadii. Male, 1. With dorsal body setae c 1, d 1 and e 1 similar in shape and size to each other in P. hadii, P. aegyptium and P. gawadii vs. setae c 1, d 1, e 1 dissimilar in shape and size to each other in P. romaine. 2. Dorsal body setae f 2 are smaller than f 3 in P. hadii vs. similar in shape and size in P. aegyptium and P. gawadii. The setation of the legs of P. gawadii needs further attention as some setae reported present or absent for that species, and the differences between males and females, are unusual. Our attempt to borrow the types was unsuccessful.
It seems likely that P. gawadii is a junior synonym of P. aegyptium. Both species are from date palm in northern Egypt, so share the same type host and general type locality. According to Halawa et al. (2015), the species are separated by the shape of setae v 2 in females, the shape of setae c 1 and d 1 in males, and the size of setae sc 1 in larvae; leg chaetotaxy is also stated as being completely different.
The shape and size of dorsal setae are prone to some variation. This may be natural, but setae vary in size and shape due to slide-mounting variation, especially for these broad setae found in Phyllotetranychus, which may be flattened to different degrees during slide-mounting. This variation and possible synonymy warrants further studies including examination of types and consideration of more material on date palms. Furthermore, the claimed differences in leg chaetotaxy are highly unlikely to be real as leg chaetotaxy was not studied in P. aegyptium. Also, the authors state that P. aegyptium has only one nymphal stage and that P. gawadii has three. Zaher et al. (1969) claimed that P. aegyptium had one nymphal stage, but all flat mites have a larva and two nymphal stages, so this deserves further attention. Halawa et al. (2015) make the unusual claim that P. gawadii has retained the tritonymph. However, it seems more likely that P. gawadii has sexual dimorphism of the deutonymph, as noted by Beard et al. (2018) for the closely related genus Raoiella.
description: Published as part of Mahdavi, Sayed Mosayeb, Latifi, Malihe & Asadi, Mahdieh, 2019, A new species of Phyllotetranychus (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) from Iran, pp. 566-578 in Zootaxa 4565 (4) on pages 567-577, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4565.4.10, http://zenodo.org/record/2591261