Monatractides vafaei Pesic, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pesic, Vladimir
name: Saboori, Alireza
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Torrenticolidae
Monatractides
Monatractides vafaei

description: Monatractides vafaei Pesic sp. nov.
(Fig. 10–16)
Type material: Holotype: male, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid. Iran: IR46 Tehran Province, Charan stream in Charan village (35°54'34 N 51°7' 28E), 2107 m asl., 14.08.2003, leg. Pesic & Saboori; Paratypes: 8 males, same data as holotype, one of them dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid.
Other material: IR60 Markazi Province, Ghareh Chai stream, 30km after Tafresh city, ca. 2100 m asl., 24.08.2003, leg. Pesic, one male and one juvenile female, dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid.
Diagnosis (Males): Dorsal shield with a relatively wide frontal plate (L/ W 1.46 –1.57), shoulder plate with a posteriorly­directed ridge; medial suture line of Cx­2+3 relatively long; three pairs of knob­shaped protrusions at the margin of the gnathosomal bay; chelicerae with robust basal segment (ratio length/height 6.5–6.8); distal margins of P­2 and P­ 3 bearing denticles.
Description: Males (type material, in brackets male from IR60): Idiosoma (Fig. 11) L 850–858 (852), W 658–671 (700); dorsal shield (Fig. 10) L 692 (725), W 542 (542), L/W ratio 1.28 (1.34); dorsal plate L 608–617 (650); shoulder plate L/W 217–221 (233)/92–96 (92), L/W ratio 2.3–2.36 (2.5), with a posteriorly­directed ridge; frontal plate L/W 150– 165 (146)/100–105 (100), L/W ratio 1.5–1.57 (1.46); shoulder/frontal plate L ratio 1.34– 1.45 (1.6); gnathosomal bay L 170–175 (171), its lateral margin with knob–shaped protrusions: one pair at the apical tip of Cx­1, two further pairs distally and proximally from the subapical seta; Cx­1 L 304–305 (296), median L 127–138 (123); Cx­2+3 median L 119– 129 (125); ratio Cx­1 L/Cx­2+3 median L 2.2–2.4 (2.4); Cx­1 median L/Cx­2+3 median L 0.98–1.16 (0.98); genital field L/W 156–158 (163)/133 (138), L/W ratio 1.17–1.19 (1.18), ejaculatory complex L 213–219 (238); distance genital field–excretory pore 183–192 (181); genital field–caudal body margin 283–292 (288); gnathosoma (Fig. 15) ventral L 188–208 (190), dL 223–231 (225); chelicera (Fig. 16) L 229–242 (242), H 35.4 (39.6), L/ H ratio 6.5–6.8 (6.1), cheliceral basal segment L 190–198 (200), claw L 44–46 (44), basal segment/claw L ratio 4.3 (4.5); palp (Figs. 13–14) total L 242–250 (246), dorsal length of palp segments: P­1 27 (29), P­2 71–75 (73), P­3 50 (48), P­4 63–65 (63), P­ 5 31–33 (33); relative length (given as % of total length) of palp segments: P­1 10.8–11.2 (11.8), P­2 29.3–30.0 (29.7), P­3 20.0–20.7 (19.5), P­4 26.0 (25.6), P­5 13.2–13.6 (13.4); P­2/P­4 ratio 1.1–1.15 (1.2); distal margins of P­2 and P­3 with denticles, P­4 with a denticle near insertion of the ventral hairs and a strong mediodistal peg­like seta.
In the following, we give additional measurements of the specimens from IR60 which are suspected to represent the juvenile female of Monatractides vafaei sp. nov. Idiosoma L 850, W 742; dorsal shield (Fig. 12) L 704, W 550, L/W ratio 1.28; dorsal plate L 608; shoulder plate L/W 233/104, L/W ratio 2.24; frontal plate L/W 156/113, L/W ratio 1.38; shoulder/frontal plate L ratio 1.49; gnathosomal bay L 200; Cx­1 L 300, median L 133; Cx­2+3 median L 96; ratio Cx­1 L/Cx­2+3 median L 2.25; Cx­1 median L/Cx­2+3 median L 1.38; genital field L/W 217/204,L/W ratio 1.06; distance genital field–excretory pore 196; gnathosoma ventral L 229, dorsal length 263; chelicera L 263, H 42, L/H ratio 6.3, cheliceral basal segment L 213, claw L 50, basal segment/claw L ratio 4.3; palp total L 275, dorsal length and relative length (given in parentheses as % of total length) of palp segments: P­1 31 (11.3), P­2 81 (29.5), P­3 56 (20.4), P­4 72 (26.2), P­5 35 (12.7); P­2/P­4 ratio 1.13.
Discussion: In the combination of the presence of three pairs of knob­shaped protrusions at the margin of the gnathosomal bay, a rather long medial suture line of Cx­2+ 3 in males, and distal margins of P­2 and P­3 bearing al least one pointed denticle, Monatractides vafaei sp. nov. is similar to M. algeriensis. As compared with M. algeriensis (data in parentheses from Di Sabatino et al. 1992), M. vafaei is characterized by the following features: ejaculatory complex shorter, L 213–238 (L 256–280), minor genital field dimensions, L/W 156–163/133–138 (L/W 175–187/162–175), chelicera relatively thicker, L/H 6.5–6.8 (L/H 7.2–8.3), gnathosomal rostrum less elongated and the distal margins of P­2 and P­3 bearing more that one denticle.
The male from Markazi Province is in good agreement with the specimens from the locus typicus. Differences are found in a thicker chelicera (L/H 6.1) and a relatively longer shoulder plate (shoulder/frontal plate L 1.6). In view of the good agreement in other measurements these differences are most probably age­depending and/or due to geographical variability.
Etymology: The species is named after Reza Vafaei (Head of the Department of Entomology, Islamic Azad University in Arak, Iran).
Biology: Rhitrobiont.
Distribution: Iran, only known from the type localities in Markazi and Tehran Provincies.
description: Published as part of Pesic, Vladimir & Saboori, Alireza, 2004, Water mite species of the genus Monatractides K. Viets (Acari: Hydrachnidia, Torrenticolidae) from Iran, with the description of two new species, pp. 1-10 in Zootaxa 673 on pages 4-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.158818