Research Article |
Corresponding author: Alireza Saboori ( saboori@ut.ac.ir ) Academic editor: Farid Faraji
© 2016 Esmaeil Babaeian, Alireza Saboori, Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Vahid Etemad.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Babaeian E, Saboori A, Gwiazdowicz DJ, Vahid Etemad V (2016) Redescription of two species of Oplitis Berlese (Acari, Mesostigmata, Oplitidae) from Iran. ZooKeys 610: 13-22. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.610.9965
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Two new species records of Oplitidae, Oplitis exopodi Hunter & Farrier, 1975 and Oplitis sarcinulus Hunter & Farrier, 1976 are redescribed based on Iranian specimens from leaf-litter forest in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. A key to the Iranian species of Oplitis is presented.
Acari , Iran, new species, Parasitiformes , taxonomy, Uropodina
The suborder Uropodina is the most morphologically and ecologically diverse group of mesostigmatic mites. They are free-living or associated with arthropods, mammals, or birds. Worldwide, this suborder comprises approximately 300 genus-group names and 2000 described species (
In the present work, two new records of Oplitis are reported on the basis of material collected in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, during a survey on Uropodina mites. Also, an identification key to the Iranian species of this genus is presented.
Mites were extracted from soil detritus and leaf-litter using Berlese-Tullgren funnels, and picked out under a stereomicroscope. After clearing in Nesbitt’s fluid, all specimens were mounted in Faure’s medium on permanent microscope slides. Morphological observations, measurements, and illustrations were made using a BX51 phase contrast Olympus microscope equipped with a drawing tube. Measurements were made from slide-mounted specimens, and are presented as ranges (minimum–maximum) in micrometers (µm). Length of shields and legs were measured along their midlines, and widths at their widest point (if not otherwise specified in the description). Legs I–IV were measured from the bases of coxa to their tips but without the pretarsal ambulacra.
Uropoda paradoxa Canestrini and Berlese, 1884 by monotypy.
The most detailed diagnosis of Oplitis was provided by
(n = 2).Idiosoma. Length 560–570, width 438–458.
Dorsum (Fig.
Venter (Fig.
Gnathosoma (Figs
Legs (Figs
Oplitis exopodi was originally found by
Our specimens of O. exopodi show some variations with illustration given by
2 females, Iran, Mazandaran Province, Nowshahr, Kheyrood-Kenar forest, 36°34'N, 50°34'E, altitude 741 m a.s.l., 27 May, 2015, E. Babaeian coll., in leaf-litter. The type specimens are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.
Female (n = 9).Idiosoma. Length 473–507, width 400–438.
Dorsum (Fig.
Venter (Fig.
Gnathosoma (Figs
Male (n = 3).Idiosoma. Length 438–450, width 385–395.
Dorsum. Dorsal setae, shields and puncta as female.
Venter (Fig.
Oplitis sarcinulus was described from North Carolina (USA) by
The Iranian specimens agree well with the original description, however,
6 females and 3 males, Iran, Mazandaran province, Nowshahr, Kheyrood-Kenar forest, 36°34'N, 051°33'E, altitude 636 m a.s.l., 5 July 2014, E. Babaeian coll., in leaf-litter. The type specimens are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.
1 | Distance between anterior margin of genital shield to anterior margin of perigenital ring is longer than posterior distance, peritremes mushroom-like | Oplitis exopodi Hunter & Farrier, 1975 |
– | Distance between anterior margin of genital shield to anterior margin of perigenital ring is equal or shorter than posterior distance, peritremes M- or U-shaped | 2 |
2 | Dorsal and ventral shield setae smooth and needle-like, peritremes M-shaped and anterior loop of prestigmatic section shorter than posterior one | O. iranicus Kazemi & Kontschán, 2007 |
– | Dorsal and ventral shield setae scimitar-shaped, anterior loop of prestigmatic section longer than posterior | 3 |
3 | Prestigmatic part U-shaped, marginal and ventral shields completely with small punctations, ratio length/width of genital shield ≈ 1.45, ratio length/width of perigenital ring ≈ 1.90 | O. paradoxa (Canestrini & Berlese, 1884) |
– | Peritremes more M-shaped and prestigmatic part longer than posterior part, only anterior part of marginal and dorsal shields with small punctations, ratio length/width of genital shield ≈ 1.20–1.23, ratio length/width of perigenital ring ≈ 1.40–1.53 | O. sarcinulus Hunter & Farrier, 1976 |
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Roberto Nannelli (Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria, Florence, Italy) for information concerning specimens in the Berlese collection. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of University of Tehran for this research under grant number 7110018/6/21.