TY - JOUR

T1 - New pseudotagmic genus of acaricaline mites (Eriophyidae, Acaricalini) from a South African palm Hyphaene coriacea and remarks on lateral opisthosomal spines and morphology of deutogynes in Eriophyoidea

AU - Chetverikov, Philipp E.

AU - Craemer, Charnie

AU - Neser, Stefan

N1 - Funding Information: We are grateful to Dr. Evert Lindquist (Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes, Ottawa, Canada) for internal review of the draft version of the paper and to anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions. Light microscopy investigation of the mite samples from Africa was supported by research projects of ZIN RAS (#АААА-А17-117030310209-7). CLSM studies were performed at the Research park of St. Petersburg State University in the Center for Molecular and Cell Technologies (IAS 1.53.917.2016, project #109-9164) and Center for Microscopy and Microanalysis (IAS 1.52.1424.2016, project #112-8186). LT-SEM studies were performed at the Laboratory for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Pretoria, South Africa. We thank A. Hall, A. Botha, and C. Venter for assistance with cryopreparation for LT-SEM. The field survey to collect eriophyoid mites on Hyphaene palm species was funded by the South Africa Department of Science and Technology grant to the Agricultural Research Council in South Africa. We acknowledge the collecting permit provided by Ezemvelo Kwazulu-Natal Wildlife giving permission to collect eriophyoid mites on palms in the Kwazulu-Natal area. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Systematic & Applied Acarology Society. Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2018/6

Y1 - 2018/6

N2 - A new genus, Tumescoptella n. g., with two new sympatric species Tumescoptella aculeata n. sp. and T. rotundiscuta n. sp., was found on the indigenous South African palm Hyphaene coriacea, Lala palm. Both species are described and illustrated with the aid of conventional light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and low temperature scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, a new record of Tumescoptes dicrus Meyer collected from Phoenix reclinata (Arecaceae), near Kirstenbosch Gardens (Cape Town, South Africa), is reported. Morphologically the Tumescoptella n. g. is most similar to Tumescoptes Keifer, but possesses a more reduced chaetome and more derived pseudotagmosis. Pseudotagmosis is one type of body consolidation in vagrant eriophyoids, realized through the formation of dorsal opisthosomal plates, pseudotagmata. Along with previously described pseudotagmata (prodorsum, cervix, postprodorsum, superpostprodorsum, pretelosoma, and telosoma), a new term, anteroscutum, is proposed for the complex pseudotagma formed as a fusion of the three anterior pseudotagmata (prodorsum+cervix+postprodorsum) in several phyllocoptine mites from palms. An anteroscutum is present in monotypic Scolocenus Keifer from coconut and in the new genus Tumescoptella n. g. Protogyne females of Tumescoptella n. g. have uncommonly large lateral opisthosomal spines. Along with tiny spinules, triangular cuticular plates, band-shaped processes, and areas of thickened cuticle, the lateral spines belong to a common group of serial derivatives of dorsal opisthosomal annuli. We give a brief review on variation of spine-like structures across taxa of Eriophyoidea and their morpho-functional evaluation. Contrary to protogyne females, deutogyne females of T. aculeata n. sp. lack lateral spines, and they possess a smoother topography of the anteroscutum. Morphological similarity of these deutogynes with mites of the less transformed genus Tumescoptes is in accordance with a previous hypothesis on the possible correspondence of deutogyne morphology to that of an ancestral taxon. Two hypotheses on the origin of the presumably monophyletic group of Tumescoptes-like phyllocoptines (TP) from palms, comprising genera Scolocenus, Tumescoptella n. g., Tumescoptes, and Pseudotagmus, are proposed based on morphological similarity with two groups of eriophyoid genera: (a) pseudotagmic genera associated with aboriginal Asian dicotyledonous tropical trees, and (b) South American phyllocoptines from arecoid palms.

AB - A new genus, Tumescoptella n. g., with two new sympatric species Tumescoptella aculeata n. sp. and T. rotundiscuta n. sp., was found on the indigenous South African palm Hyphaene coriacea, Lala palm. Both species are described and illustrated with the aid of conventional light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and low temperature scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, a new record of Tumescoptes dicrus Meyer collected from Phoenix reclinata (Arecaceae), near Kirstenbosch Gardens (Cape Town, South Africa), is reported. Morphologically the Tumescoptella n. g. is most similar to Tumescoptes Keifer, but possesses a more reduced chaetome and more derived pseudotagmosis. Pseudotagmosis is one type of body consolidation in vagrant eriophyoids, realized through the formation of dorsal opisthosomal plates, pseudotagmata. Along with previously described pseudotagmata (prodorsum, cervix, postprodorsum, superpostprodorsum, pretelosoma, and telosoma), a new term, anteroscutum, is proposed for the complex pseudotagma formed as a fusion of the three anterior pseudotagmata (prodorsum+cervix+postprodorsum) in several phyllocoptine mites from palms. An anteroscutum is present in monotypic Scolocenus Keifer from coconut and in the new genus Tumescoptella n. g. Protogyne females of Tumescoptella n. g. have uncommonly large lateral opisthosomal spines. Along with tiny spinules, triangular cuticular plates, band-shaped processes, and areas of thickened cuticle, the lateral spines belong to a common group of serial derivatives of dorsal opisthosomal annuli. We give a brief review on variation of spine-like structures across taxa of Eriophyoidea and their morpho-functional evaluation. Contrary to protogyne females, deutogyne females of T. aculeata n. sp. lack lateral spines, and they possess a smoother topography of the anteroscutum. Morphological similarity of these deutogynes with mites of the less transformed genus Tumescoptes is in accordance with a previous hypothesis on the possible correspondence of deutogyne morphology to that of an ancestral taxon. Two hypotheses on the origin of the presumably monophyletic group of Tumescoptes-like phyllocoptines (TP) from palms, comprising genera Scolocenus, Tumescoptella n. g., Tumescoptes, and Pseudotagmus, are proposed based on morphological similarity with two groups of eriophyoid genera: (a) pseudotagmic genera associated with aboriginal Asian dicotyledonous tropical trees, and (b) South American phyllocoptines from arecoid palms.

KW - Arecaceae

KW - arthropod structure

KW - CLSM

KW - LT-SEM

KW - palm mites

KW - pseudotagma

KW - wax

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048344868&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.11158/saa.23.6.6

DO - 10.11158/saa.23.6.6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85048344868

VL - 23

SP - 1073

EP - 1101

JO - Systematic and Applied Acarology

JF - Systematic and Applied Acarology

SN - 1362-1971

IS - 6

ER -