<p class="Body">Two new phyllocoptine species and new records of eriophyoid mites (Eriophyidae, Phyllocoptinae) from Crimea, with evaluation of the phylogenetic position of the new taxa using GenBank data

Abstract

We describe two new species and report new occurrences for six species of eriophyid mites (Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) in Crimea: Abacarus denticulifer n. sp. from Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. (Poaceae), Aceria aculiformis Sukhareva 1986 from Melica ciliata L. (Poaceae), Aceria peucedani (Canestrini 1891) from Seseli tortuosum L. (Apiaceae), Anthocoptes recki (Bagdasarian 1972) n. comb. (from Tegonotus) from Pistacia atlantica subsp. mutica (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) (Anacardiaceae), Epitrimerus inulae Farkas 1963 from Inula germanica L. (Asteraceae), Phyllocoptes sanctus n. sp. from Potentilla recta subsp. obscura (Willd.) (Rosaceae), Phyllocoptes bilobospinosus Chetverikov 2019 (in Chetverikov et al. 2019) from Tamarix spp. (Tamaricaceae), Tegoprionus dentatus (Nalepa 1891) from Galium verum L. (Rubiaceae). For an Indian phyllocoptine mite species associated with Apluda mutica L. (Poaceae), a new combination was proposed: Abacarus muticus (Sur & Chakrabarti 2017) n. comb. (from Mesalox). Mitochondrial COI and D2 28S rDNA sequences of three phyllocoptine species from Crimea were obtained: A. denticulifer n. sp. (GenBank accession numbers MK415989 and MK408623), P. bilobospinosus (MK408624), and P. sanctus n. sp. (MK415988 and MK408622). Comparison of all COI and D2 28S sequences of Eriophyoidea from GenBank showed that sequences JF920111 and JF920110 Aceria tulipae are identical to JF920101 Aceria tosichella, and D2 28S sequence KP297379 Tegolophus sp. is identical to KM111079 Shevtchenkella sp., which indicates either one or more misidentifications or sample contamination. Molecular phylogenetic analyses (a) confirmed the morphology-based assignment of A. denticulifer n. sp. to the Abacarus hystrix s.l. species complex, (b) supported the monophyly of Abacarus hystrix s.l., (c) revealed that the genera Phyllocoptes, Epitrimerus, and Calepitrimerus are paraphyletic, and (d) indicated that Phyllocoptini (including P. sanctus n. sp.), which are associated with Rosaceae and Caprifoliaceae, are monophyletic. The position of P. bilobospinosus was uncertain in all analyses. Based on the results of our study, it is recommended that descriptions of new species in large, putatively paraphyletic genera of Eriophyoidea include comparisons with mite species associated with the same plant family. Our work also provides new evidence that a species in a large complex of cryptic species could have evolved a distinct morphology if it is associated with an endemic plant host restricted to a geographically isolated area.