A new species of Paraseiulus Muma from Iran with a key to the known species (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae)

Abstract

According to Moraes et al. (2004), twelve species of Paraseiulus Muma are known worldwide, of which six were recorded in Iran (Kamali et al., 2001; Faraji et al., 2007). The genus Paraseiulus is characterized by the absence of caudoventral setae JV2; ventrianal shield sole-shaped, with two pairs of preanal setae and without preanal pores; sternal shield with two pairs of setae; setae ST3 either located on soft cuticle or inserted on platelets and setae ST4 inserted on separate platelets; calyx of spermatheca elongate-tubular, bell-shaped or saccular; fixed cheliceral digit with two or three teeth; legs without macrosetae or with a short macroseta on basitarsus IV. A new species of Paraseiulus is described in this paper and a key is provided to help in the identification of the world species of this genus. The classification system follows Chant and McMurtry (1994) for Typhlodrominae. The notations used for dorsal and ventral setations follow Rowell et al. (1978) and Chant and Yoshida-Shaul (1991) respectively. All measurements are in micrometers (μm). The type material of slide-mounted specimens is deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, The Netherlands (RMNH).