Africoseiulella sedishazlensisensis El-Banhawy, Nasr & Ramadan, 2025

Nasr, Abdelrady K. & Ramadan, Mahmoud M., 2025, Description of a new species of Africoseiulella Kreiter (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Egypt, Zootaxa 5633 (2), pp. 244-250 : 245-248

Africoseiulella sedishazlensisensis El-Banhawy, Nasr & Ramadan new species

( Figures 1–19 )

Female (n= 3 specimens)

Dorsal shield eroded laterally immediately behind s6 and with a pronounced incision immediately anteriad S5; smooth centrally, reticulated laterally; 300 long, 165 wide; with 13 pairs of eye-like solenostomes and posteriorly rounded. Measurements of dorsal setae: j1 13 (11–14), j3 13 (12–14), j4 13 (11–14), j5 15 (14–16), j6 15 (14–16), J2 18 (17–19), J5 14 (11–15), z2 13 (10–14), z3 13 (10–14), z4 13 (10–15), z5 12 (10–14), Z4 16 (13–17), Z5 18 (16–20), s4 15 (13–17), s6 15 (12–17), S2 15 (12–17), S5 20 (18–22), r3 12 (10–14); setae z6, S4 and R1 absent. Peritreme short, 70 (62–75) long, reaching level of r3.

Sternal shield 83 (77–90) long, 45 (40–52) wide at mid-level, with two pairs of setae, St1 and St2, St3 and St4 free on integument. Genital shield 70 (66–75) wide. Ventrianal shield 88 (85–90) long, 70 (66–76) wide across constriction, with a pair of widely separated small pores, two pairs of setae (JV3, ZV2) anterior to constriction; setae ZV3 and JV5 surrounding ventrianal shield. Metapodal plates narrow, slightly curved and elongate, 52 (48– 60) long; accessory metapodal platelets triangular, 7 (5–8) long. Spermathecal calyx dish-shaped, 3 long; atrium seemingly elongate, with attachment of minor duct next to base of calyx, followed by an apparently elongate and more sclerotised section of the major duct. Chelicera small, fixed digit with four small teeth in addition to distal hook and leaf like pilus dentilis, movable digit without teeth and with strong distal hook. Deutosternal groove narrow, with a single, longitudinal line of denticles, 7 (5–7) wide. Number of setae on segments of leg I–IV coxa I–IV: 2, 2, 2, 1; trochanter I–IV: 5, 5, 5, 5; femur I–IV: 12, 9, 6, 6; genu I–IV: 10, 6, 6, 7; tibia I–IV: 10, 7, 7, 6, basitarsus I–IV: 0, 2, 2, 2. Coxae I–IV without spine like structure; leg chaetotaxy as in Table 1 . Legs without macrosetae.

Male: Dorsal shield like that of the female, 260 long, 150 wide. Measurements of dorsal setae: j1 11, j3 12, j4 13, j5 14, j6 16, J2 17, J5 15, z2 15, z3 13, z4 13, z5 14, Z4 15, Z5 20, s4 13, s6 12, S2 17, S5 18, r3 12, on dorsal shield. Peritreme 60 long. Coxae III and IV with spinelike structure. Sternogenital shield 140 long,115 wide at level of St3, with five pairs of setae. Ventrianal shield 55 long, 82 wide at greatest level with a pair of preanal pores near margin and three pairs of preanal setae (JV1, ZV2, ZV3). Spermatodactyl 12 long.

Type specimens: Holotype female, Sedi El-Shazli village , Red Sea Province, Upper Egypt, June 2002 . Paratypes: two females and one male, same data as holotype. The type material will be deposited in the Entomology Museum, Faculty of Science Cairo University, Egypt .

Etymology. The name of the new species refers to a village in Wadi al Gemal, Red Sea province east of Aswan City.

Remarks

This species is similar to A. flechtmanni , but there are major differences between the two species in the leg chaetotaxy, the shape of the sternal and ventrianal shields, the form of the pilus dentilis, and general features of dorsal shield ( Table 2 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Africoseiulella sedishazlensis. 1, Dorsal shield; 2, Ventral shields; 3, Spermatheca; 4, Chelicera; 5, Gnathosoma.

FIGURES 6–8. Africoseiulella sedishazlensis. 6, Ventral shields of male; 7, Spermatodactyl; 8, Spine like structure on coxa IV.

FIGURES 9–12. Africoseiulella sedishazlensis. 9, Leg I; 10, Leg II; 11, Leg III; 12, Leg IV.

FIGURES 13–19. Africoseiulella sedishazlensis. 13, Pilus dentilis; 14, Spermatodactyl; 15, Basi-tarsus II; 16, Basi-tarsus III; 17, Basi-tarsus IV; 18, Sternal shield; 19, Spines on coxa III–IV.