Adelphacarus reticulatus sp. nov. (Oribatida) and other palaeosomatid mites of grassland and agricultural habitats in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, with notes on Adelphacaridae

ABSTRACT

Adelphacarus reticulatus Lotfollahi sp. nov., the second known species of the oribatid mite genus Adelphacarus (Adelphacaridae), is proposed based on specimens collected from 40- to 75-cm depth in sandy clay loam soil of a natural grassland in the Marand region, East Azerbaijan province of Iran. It is distinct from the type species, A. sellnicki Grandjean, in having the sensillus broadened and curved in the distal half, a posterior notogastral shield with distinct irregular reticulation, the presence of an aggenital plate, differences in various setal lengths, and a richer leg setation. The distribution of A. sellnicki is reviewed, showing that the family is widespread, but not previously known from Asia. Various family-group classifications of Adelphacarus are also reviewed, and the validity of the name Adelphacaridae is supported. Other palaeosomatans represented in a general study of grassland and agricultural soils of the Marand region include Ctenacarus araneola (Grandjean), Gilarovella demetrii Lange, and Beklemishevia sp. (all Ctenacaridae), and two distinct morphospecies of Aphelacarus (Aphelacaridae).

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A484DEF5-A3A3-45D0-AABD-B9282E621885

KEYWORDS:

• Classification
• habitat
• Marand
• Oribatid mites
• soil horizon

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Iran, which is greatly appreciated. Specimens of Adelphacarus sellnicki from Australia and Wales were kindly provided by Drs Heather Proctor and Alan Orange, respectively. We are grateful to Dr W. J. Dimmers and his coauthors for helping to correct the erroneous record of A. sellnicki from Portugal. The paper benefitted from the careful attention of three anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The listing of the common Aphelacarus acarinus (Berlese 1910) as a species of Adelphacarus by Karppinen and Krivolutsky (1982) was an obvious lapsus (Usitalo 1991).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University [217/d/14582].