A new species of spider mite, Oligonychus neocastaneae sp. nov. (Acari: Tetranychidae), from Japan

Abstract

A new species Oligonychus neocastaneae sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc. (Fagaceae). The new species closely resembles Oligonychus castaneae Ehara Gotoh, 2007, which inhabits the same host plant, Castanea crenata, but mainly differs by the aedeagus in having a longer distal portion which forms a small sigmoid and acuminate tip, instead of having a shorter distal portion which ends in a truncate tip. Several differences were also observed between the two species in the leg setal counts of tarsus II in the male and female; the number of tactile setae and solenidia (in parentheses) was 11(1) for the female and male in the new species, but in O. castaneae this count is 12(1) for the female and 12(2) for the male. A maximum likelihood tree based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed that O. neocastaneae sp. nov. was clearly separated from O. castaneae and other related species. A key to all species of the genus Oligonychus known in Japan is given.

Evidence for Reconsidering the Taxonomic Status of Closely Related Oligonychus Species in punicae Complex (Acari: Prostigmata: Tetranychidae)

“…Such species complexes are difficult to resolve using morphology alone [ 4 ]. Therefore, an integrated taxonomic approach using morphological and molecular/biological data is essential to differentiate among/between the closely related Oligonychus species [ 10 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…DNA-based markers, e.g. the internal transcribed spacer region ITS2 of the nuclear ribosomal DNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene have been applied accurately together with morphological data for the identification and confirmation of morphologically related tetranychid species [ 26 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The application of integrative taxonomy for species delineation has resolved many problems of synonymy and the misidentification of closely related species in the family Tetranychidae [ 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

Molecular-Based Taxonomic Inferences of Some Spider Mite Species of the Genus Oligonychus Berlese (Acari, Prostigmata, Tetranychidae)

“…DNA-based methods include DNA sequences, e.g., nuclear and mitochondrial genes. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been used extensively in identifying organisms, including mites [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA have also been applied accurately for the identification or confirmation of closely related species in the family Tetranychidae Donnadieu [ 7 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 ].…”