A new species of Torrenticola ungeri complex (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Torrenticolidae), and new water mite records for Portugal
Abstract
A new species belonging to the Torrenticola ungeri complex, T. galaicasp. nov., is described from northwestern Portugal. It differs from other closely related congeners by its roundish idiosoma, distinctive dorsal shield shape and color pattern, and divergent DNA barcode sequences. Additionally, Torrenticola ungeri disparilis Walter, 1947, previously synonymized with T. ungeri ungeri (Szalay, 1927), is resurrected as a valid subspecies. New faunistic data from Portugal based on DNA barcoding are presented, with six species recorded for the first time for Portugal.
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ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Accepted by R.M. Sanchez: 30 Sept. 2025; published: 4 Nov. 2025 1 Zootaxa 5717 (1): 001–017 https://www.mapress.com/zt/ Copyright © 2025 Magnolia Press Article https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5717.1.1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6BE5BF0F-769F-4C17-86BC-FC27462F6942 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-N.C. 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ A new species of Torrenticola ungeri complex (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Torrenticolidae), and new water mite records for Portugal VLADIMIR PEŠIĆ1*, DINIS GIRÃO2,3,4, CHIARA VERGATA5, LUÍS P. DA SILVA2,3 & SÓNIA FERREIRA2,3 1Department of Biology, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro 2CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal � soniaferr[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6884-3966 � [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4842-0721 � [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2358-1277 3BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal 4Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal 5Department of Biology, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy � chiara.ver[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2727-7977 *Corresponding author: � [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9724-345X Abstract A new species belonging to the Torrenticola ungeri complex, T. galaica sp. nov., is described from northwestern Portugal. It differs from other closely related congeners by its roundish idiosoma, distinctive dorsal shield shape and color pattern, and divergent DNA barcode sequences. Additionally, Torrenticola ungeri disparilis Walter, 1947, previously synonymized with T. ungeri ungeri (Szalay, 1927), is resurrected as a valid subspecies. New faunistic data from Portugal based on DNA barcoding are presented, with six species recorded for the first time for Portugal. Key words: Montenegro, Water mites, DNA barcoding, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), integrative taxonomy, systematics Introduction The water mite genus Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 comprises of two subgenera in the Palaearctic region: Torrenticola s. str. and Megapalpis Halbert, 1944. Most species within the genus inhabit lotic habitats, although some have been reported from interstitial waters (Di Sabatino et al. 2010) and, more rarely, from lentic habitats such as lakes (Pešić et al. 2021). The nominal subgenus, Torrenticola s. str., is particularly species-rich and represents the most diverse group among torrenticolids, with approximately 30 species described to date from continental Europe (i.e., Lundblad 1956; Cicolani & Di Sabatino 1990; Di Sabatino & Cicolani 1990; Di Sabatino et al. 2003, 2010; Pešić et al. 2012, 2024a, 2025c). Recent DNA barcoding studies have revealed a high degree of cryptic and pseudo-cryptic diversity within European torrenticolids (e.g. Pešić et al. 2021, 2024, 2025a,b), with many Linnean species found to represent species complexes composed of genetically distinct lineages, often with restricted distributions (Pešić & Smit 2022; Pešić et al. 2021, 2023b, 2024a, 2025c). According to Wiles (1997) and subsequently followed by Pešić & Smit (2009) and Pešić et al. (2013b, 2019), the Torrenticola ungeri species complex is characterized by the shoulder platelets being fused or partially fused with the dorsal plate, and by the glandularia Cxgl-4 being located posterior to Cxgl-2. In the Western Palaearctic region, this species complex includes two species: Torrenticola ungeri (Szalay, 1927), a species reported from Europe, Türkiye, and Russia (Di Sabatino et al. 2010; Erman et al. 2010; Tuzovskij 2015); and T. neoungeri Pešić, Asadi, Etemadi & Smit, 2019, a species known only from males, collected in Khuzestan, southern Iran (Pešić et al. 2019). In addition, six Asian species have been assigned to the T. ungeri complex: T. occulta Lundblad, 1971
PEŠIĆ ET AL. 2 · Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press (Java; Lundblad 1971); T. ussuriensis (Sokolow, 1940) (Russian Far East, Korea, Japan; Pešić et al. 2011, 2013a); T. microdentifera Cook, 1967 (India: Maharashtra; Cook 1967); T. taiwanicus Pešić, Semenchenko, Chatterjee, Yam & Chan, 2011 (Taiwan; Pešić et al. 2011); T. episce Pešić, Chatterjee, Das & Bordoloi, 2013 (India: Assam, Uttarakhand; Pešić et al. 2013b, 2022b; Bhutan: Pešić et al. 2022a); and Torrenticola sp. sensu Pešić & Smit, 2009 (Thailand; Pešić & Smit 2009a). This study is based on specimens collected in continental Portugal in 2023/2024 and represents a continuation of recent research on Portuguese water mites (e.g., Pešić et al. 2023a, 2024a,b, 2025a,b), four of them conducted within the framework of the Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE) project (https://biodiversitygenomics.eu/). As a result of this investigation, we describe one species new to science and report six water mite species from Portugal for the first time. Material and Methods Water mites were collected with kick nets and immediately preserved in 96% ethanol for the purpose of molecular analyses. Water mite specimens used for molecular studies are listed in Table 1. After non-destructive, whole-body DNA extraction, the specimen vouchers were stored in 96% ethanol and morphologically examined. Some of these vouchers were dissected and slide mounted in Faure’s medium, while the rest was transferred to Koenike’s fluid. TAble 1. Details on DNA barcoded specimens from Portugal, including coordinates of sampling sites, the barcode index number and associated data obtained from BOLD. BOLD data presented here was last accessed on 25th August 2024. locality Coordinates Voucher Code bOlD Acc Nos bIN bOlD Pseudohydryphantes parvulus K. Viets, 1907 Viana do Castelo, Ponte da Barca river beach 41.8101°N, 8.4144°W BGE_00580_E06 BBIOP3474-24 BOLD:AGP6238 BGE_00712_F08 BBIOP4248-25 Torrenticola galaica sp. nov. Viana do Castelo, Monção, Podame near bridge 42.0351°N, 8.3840°W BGE_00580_F08 BBIOP3488-24 BOLD:AGP6165 Viana do Castelo, Arcos de Valdevez, Breia, Sieiros picnic park 41.8967°N, 8.4388°W BGE_00580_H05 BBIOP3509-24 BGE_00580_H06 BBIOP3510-24 Torrenticola thori (Halbert, 1944) Viana do Castelo, Monção, Podame near bridge 42.0351°N, 8.3839°W BGE_00580_F07 BBIOP3487-24 BOLD:AFI1872 Sperchon denticulatus Koenike, 1895 Viana do Castelo, Melgaço, Porto Ribeiro, watermill and medieval bridge of Lamas de Mouro 42.0446°N, 8.2030°W BGE_00580_D03 BBIOP3459-24 BOLD:AFW4926Viana do Castelo, Melgaço, Aldeia de Pontes, stream between the houses 41.9887°N, 8.1634°W BGE_00580_E03 BBIOP3471-24 Guarda, Seia, Casa do Loureiro 40.4334°N, 7.7005°W BGE_00109_E01 BBIOP049-24 Limnolegeria longiseta Motaş, 1928 Viana do Castelo, Arcos de Valdevez, Breia, Sieiros picnic park 41.8967°N, 8.4388°W BGE_00580_H01 BBIOP3505-24 BOLD:AGP6653 Viana do Castelo, Melgaço, Mareco, bridge over Castro Laboreiro river 41.9854°N, 8.1633°W BGE_00580_F02 BBIOP3482-24 Vila Real, Cabril, Fafião river 41.7097°N, 8.0933°W BGE_00580_H08 BBIOP3512-24 ......continued on the next page
NEW SPECIES OF TORRENTICOLA UNGERI COMPLEx Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press · 3 TAble 1. (Continued) locality Coordinates Voucher Code bOlD Acc Nos bIN bOlD Aturus intermedius Protz, 1900 Braga, Vilar da Veiga, Cascata do Arado 41.7226°N, 8.1297°W BGE_00580_H11 BBIOP3515-24 BOLD:AGP8568 Arrenurus robustus Koenike, 1894 Viana do Castelo, Arcos de Valdevez, Breia, Sieiros picnic park 41.8967°N, 8.4388°W BGE_00580_H03 BBIOP3507-24 BOLD:ACS0773 Morphological nomenclature follows Gerecke et al. (2016). The dorsal platelets of Torrenticola spp. were measured on both sides, therefore their dimensions are given as a range of values, rather than a single number. The holotype and paratypes of the new species are deposited in Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (RMNH). All measurements are given in μm. The photographs of selected structures were made using a camera on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The following abbreviations are used: Cx-I = first coxae, Cxgl-4 = coxoglandularia of first coxae, dL = dorsal length, H = height, I-L-4 = first leg, fourth segment, L = length, mL = medial length, P-1 = palp, first segment, RMNH = Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Vgl = ventroglandularia, vL = ventral length, W = width. Molecular and DNA barcode analyses The molecular analysis was conducted at the University of Florence (Florence, Italy). DNA was extracted using a non-destructive protocol as described in Pešić et al. (2025b). Raw reads were demultiplexed using the Pacific Biosciences SMRT Link software. Consensus sequences were generated with the PacBio Amplicon Analysis (pbaa) tool. Primer trimming, translation and stop codon checking were performed using Geneious Prime 2024.0.1. Consensus sequences were made available in the BOLD database (Ratnasingham & Hebert 2007). Relevant voucher information, photos, and newly generated DNA barcodes are publicly accessible through the Dataset—DSBGEPL04 BGE Biodiversity Genomics Europe: Portuguese water mites IV—A new species of Torrenticola ungeri complex from Portugal” in BOLD (dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-BGEPL04). In this study DNA was extracted from 14 specimens from Portugal listed in Table 1. For all other species, COI sequence data were taken from the respective sequence data archives (Table 2). Sequence alignments were performed using MUSCLE (Edgar 2004). Intraand interspecific genetic distances were calculated based on the Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model (Kimura 1980), using MEGA11 (Tamura et al. 2021). The latter software was used to calculate Neighbour-Joining (NJ) trees based on K2P distances (standard for barcoding studies) using pairwise deletion for missing data. Branch support was calculated using nonparametric bootstrap (Felsenstein 1985) with 1000 replicates and shown next to the branches. Codon positions included were 1st+2nd+3rd+Noncoding. All ambiguous positions were removed for each sequence pair (pairwise deletion option). TAble 2. List of Torrenticola specimens used for building the Neighbour-Joining (NJ) tree (Fig. 4). Sequences marked with an asterisk were derived from the GenBank database, otherwise, sequences are downloaded from the BOLD database. BINs are based on the barcode analysis from 25 August 2025. Process ID Sample ID BIN Country Torrenticola amplexa MARBN1283-23 MARB UIB 891 BOLD:ACR0665 Norway MARBN1282-23 MARB UIB 890 Norway MARBN1281-23 MARB UIB 889 Norway MARBN1242-23 MARB UIB 850 Norway MARBN1241-23 MARB UIB 849 Norway ......continued on the next page
PEŠIĆ ET AL. 4 · Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press TAble 2. (Continued) Process ID Sample ID BIN Country MARBN1138-23 MARB UIB 651 Norway MARBN1015-23 MARB UIB 1003 Norway MARBN807-23 MARB UIB 1080 Norway MARBN647-23 MARB UIB 730 Norway MARBN812-23 MARB UIB 1085 Norway MARBN1187-23 MARB UIB 795 Norway MARBN646-23 MARB UIB 729 Norway MARBN1243-23 MARB UIB 851 Norway MARBN1016-23 MARB UIB 1004 Norway MARBN844-23 MARB UIB 1117 Norway MARBN713-23 MARB UIB 1176 Norway MARBN640-23 MARB UIB 723 Norway MARBN626-23 MARB UIB 709 Norway MARBN710-23 MARB UIB 1173 Norway MARBN809-23 MARB UIB 1082 Norway MARBN878-23 MARB UIB 1246 Norway MARBN1188-23 MARB UIB 796 Norway MARBN1278-23 MARB UIB 886 Norway MARBN631-23 MARB UIB 714 Norway MARBN1018-23 MARB UIB 1006 Norway MARBN1022-23 MARB UIB 1010 Norway MARBN876-23 MARB UIB 1244 Norway MARBN715-23 MARB UIB 1178 Norway MARBN648-23 MARB UIB 731 Norway MARBN615-23 MARB UIB 698 Norway MARBN1017-23 MARB UIB 1005 Norway MARBN1190-23 MARB UIB 798 Norway MARBN845-23 MARB UIB 1118 Norway MARBN714-23 MARB UIB 1177 Norway MARBN641-23 MARB UIB 724 Norway MARBN616-23 MARB UIB 699 Norway MARBN707-23 MARB UIB 1170 Norway MARBN716-23 MARB UIB 1179 Norway MARBN877-23 MARB UIB 1245 Norway MARBN1134-23 MARB UIB 647 Norway MARBN1195-23 MARB UIB 803 Norway MARBN627-23 MARB UIB 710 Norway MARBN712-23 MARB UIB 1175 Norway MARBN810-23 MARB UIB 1083 Norway MARBN979-23 MARB UIB 967 Norway MARBN1189-23 MARB UIB 797 Norway MARBN1274-23 MARB UIB 882 Norway MARBN811-23 MARB UIB 1084 Norway ......continued on the next page
NEW SPECIES OF TORRENTICOLA UNGERI COMPLEx Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press · 5 TAble 2. (Continued) Process ID Sample ID BIN Country MARBN1014-23 MARB UIB 1002 Norway MARBN630-23 MARB UIB 713 Norway MARBN1019-23 MARB UIB 1007 Norway MARBN1194-23 MARB UIB 802 Norway MARBN709-23 MARB UIB 1172 Norway MARBN711-23 MARB UIB 1174 Norway MARBN808-23 MARB UIB 1081 Norway MARBN708-23 MARB UIB 1171 Norway MARBN1021-23 MARB UIB 1009 Norway MARBN611-23 MARB UIB 694 Norway MARBN1275-23 MARB UIB 883 Norway HYDCA109-18 HYDCA109 Norway DCBDJ064-21 CCDB 38392 F04 Germany HYDOC079-22 CCDB 44300 G07 Croatia HYDOC083-22 CCDB 44300 G11 Croatia HYDOC081-22 CCDB 44300 G09 Croatia DCCDB076-21 CCDB38233 G04 Montenegro DNCBD069-20 CCDB-3867-F09 Montenegro DNCBD068-20 CCDB-3867-F08 Montenegro HYDMN162-24 K68 18 Montenegro BSNTN1909-24 BGE 00247 A09 Greece HYDAL028-23 CCDB-44301-C04 Portugal NLACA453-15 RMNH.ACA.881 BOLD:ACS0261 Netherlands NLACA080-15 RMNH.ACA.1112 Netherlands NLACA081-15 |RMNH.ACA.1113 Netherlands NLACA082-15 RMNH.ACA.1114 Netherlands NLACA454-15 RMNH.ACA.883 Netherlands SEPTB081-21 CCDB 38362 G09 Croatia Torrenticola elisabethae BSNTN984-23 BGE 00227 C10 BOLD:AFW5336 Portugal BSNTN1040-23 BGE 00227 H06 Portugal BBIOP135-24 BGE 00108 D04 Portugal Torrenticola episce HYDME092-22 CCDB 41823 H08 BOLD:AER7328 India HYDME093-22 CCDB 41823 H09 India HYDME091-22 CCDB 41823 H07 India HYDME090-22 CCDB 41823 H06 India Torrenticola ischnophallus DCBDJ061-21 CCDB 38392 F01 BOLD:ACI0619 Germany HYDBH089-22 CCDB 41824 H05 Germany Torrenticola lukai ......continued on the next page
PEŠIĆ ET AL. 6 · Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press TAble 2. (Continued) Process ID Sample ID BIN Country HYDMN011-24 K65 11 BOLD:ACH9685 Montenegro HYDMN012-24 K65 12 Montenegro HYDMN173-24 K68 29 Montenegro HYDMN409-24 K73 26 Montenegro HYDMN064-24 K66 16 Montenegro HYDMN065-24 K66 17 Montenegro HYDMN066-24 K66 18 Montenegro HYDMN163-24 K68 19 Montenegro HYDMN399-24 K73 16 Montenegro HYDMN400-24 K73 17 Montenegro HYDMN401-24 K73 18 Montenegro HYDMN612-24 K77 40 Montenegro HYDMN665-24 K78 45 Montenegro HYDMN563-24 K76 36 Montenegro HYDMN225-24 K69 33 Montenegro HYDMN336-24 K72 1 Montenegro HYDMN369-24 K72 34 Montenegro HYDMN534-24 K76 7 Montenegro HYDMN542-24 K76 15 Montenegro HYDMN560-24 K76 33 Montenegro DCDDJ036-21 CCDB 38361 C12 Montenegro HYDBH030-22 CCDB 41824 C06 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH022-22 CCDB 41824 B10 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH023-22 CCDB 41824 B11 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH029-22 CCDB 41824 C05 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH031-22 CCDB 41824 C07 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH036-22 CCDB 41824 C12 Bosnia and Herzegovina HYDBH025-22 CCDB 41824 C01 Bosnia and Herzegovina Torrenticola lundbladi Jx629052.1* Spain Jx629050.1* Spain Jx629051.1* Spain Torrenticola ramini HYDIR058-23 CCDB 39399 E10 BOLD:AFF4076 Iran Torrenticola tenuipalpis BSNTN1013-23 BGE 00227 F03 BOLD:AFV2021 Portugal Torrenticola ungeri disparilis HYDMN410-24 K73 27 BOLD:AFD1056 Montenegro Torrenticola ungeri ungeri ......continued on the next page
NEW SPECIES OF TORRENTICOLA UNGERI COMPLEx Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press · 7 TAble 2. (Continued) Process ID Sample ID BIN Country SEPTA051-21 CCDB 38363 E03 BOLD:AED2307 Serbia DNCBD079-20 CCDB-3867-G07 Montenegro DNCBD044-20 CCDB-3867-D08 Montenegro DNAEC057-20 19. M19 24 6 E10 Montenegro DNAEC058-20 20. M19 24 6 E11 Montenegro HYDMN320-24 K71 33 Montenegro HYDMN321-24 K71 34 Montenegro HYDMN213-24 K69 21 Montenegro Systematics Family Torrenticolidae Piersig, 1902 Genus Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 Torrenticola (Torrenticola) ungeri (Szalay, 1927) Material examined: “T. ungeri ungeri“ Serbia, Zlatibor, Crni Rzav stream near Vodice, 43.6559°N, 19.704°E, 22 Jul. 2021, leg. Pešić 1♂ (DNA barcoded; SEPTA051-21), dissected and slide mounted (voucher Id: CCDB 38363 E03; RMNH). “T. ungeri ungeri“ Montenegro, Bar, Vruća rijeka stream, 42.0852°N, 19.1382°E, 26 Jul. 2015, leg. Pešić, 1♀ (DNA barcoded; HYDMN213-24) dissected and slide mounted (voucher Id: K69_21; RMNH). “T. ungeri disparilis“ Montenegro, Tuzi, Cijevna river, 42.4067°N, 19.4364°E, 26 Jun. 2023, leg. Zawal & Pešić, 1♀ (juven.) (DNA barcoded; HYDMN410-24) dissected and slide mounted (voucher Id: K73_27; RMNH). Remarks: The water mite Torrenticola ungeri (Szalay, 1927) includes two subspecies: T. ungeri ungeri (Szalay, 1927), originally described from Hungary, and T. ungeri disparilis (Walter, 1947), a subspecies described based on a single male collected from interstitial waters of a stream in Romania (Walter 1947). Later on, K.O. Viets (1958) placed the latter subspecies into synonymy with the nominal subspecies. According to Lundblad (1956), and followed by Szalay (1964), P-3 of the nominal subspecies lacks fine serration on the ventral margin, while the ventral margin of P-4 bears fine serration in addition with 2–4 ventral tubercles. In contrast, in T. ungeri disparilis, the ventral margin of P-3 shows fine serrations similar to those of P-4, although these are less conspicuous (see Walter 1947). In our molecular study, two well-supported clades were recovered among specimens identified as T. ungeri, corresponding to Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) BOLD:AED2307 and BOLD:AFD1056. Re-examination of specimens assigned to BOLD:AED2307 showed that their palp morphology (ventral margin of P-3 lacking fine serrations; ventral margin of P-4 in addition to fine serration with 2–4 ventral tubercles; Fig. 1A) matches the description of T. ungeri ungeri. In contrast, a single juvenile female from BOLD:AFD1056 exhibited palp characteristics consistent with T. ungeri disparilis, with both P-3 and P-4 bearing fine serrations, and P-4 additionally bearing 6–7 small ventral tubercles (Fig. 1B). The COI genetic divergence between these clades was estimated at 6.14% (K2P), indicating clear genetic separation. Therefore, we propose the resurrection of Torrenticola ungeri disparilis as a valid subspecies, distinct from the nominal T. ungeri ungeri. Note: Based on palp morphology—with both P-3 and P-4 bearing fine serrations, and P-4 additionally bearing 6–7 small ventral tubercles—the male specimen from the Mrtvica stream in Montenegro, illustrated by Pešić et al. (2019; figs. 3A–B), should be assigned to T. ungeri disparilis.
PEŠIĆ ET AL. 8 · Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press FIGuRe 1. A—Torrenticola ungeri ungeri (Szalay, 1927), ♂ [CCDB 38363 E03], Crni Rzav, Serbia; b—T. ungeri disparilis Walter, 1947, ♀ (juven.) [K73_27], Cijevna river, Montenegro: palp, medial view (P-1 lacking). Scale bars = 100 μm. Torrenticola (Torrenticola) galaica Pešić sp. nov. https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DD73BF59-BB83-4EEB-8F9F-A66BC80245C9 Figs. 2, 3A–B Material examined: Holotype ♀, Portugal, Viana do Castelo, Monção, Podame, near bridge, 42.0351°N, 8.3839°W, 40 m asl, 19 Aug. 2024, leg. Ferreira, Girão & da Silva, dissected and slide mounted (DNA barcoded; voucher Id: BGE_00580_F08; RMNH). Paratypes: 2♀ (DNA barcoded; BGE_00580_H05, BGE_00580_H06), Viana do Castelo, Arcos de Valdevez, Breia, Sieiros picnic park, 41.8967°N, 8.4388°W, 53 m asl., 19 Aug. 2024, leg. Ferreira, Girão & da Silva. Diagnosis (Males unknown): Morphological: Characters of the Torrenticola ungeri species group (shoulder platelets fused or partially fused with dorsal plate, Cxgl-4 posterior to Cxgl-2); dorsal shield with colour pattern as illustrated in Fig. 3A–B; the angle of the dorsal plate between the frontal plates slightly pointed, with the anterior part of the dorsal plate lying relatively wide between the traces of the shoulder plate delimitation; tip of Cx-I with several long setae; excretory pore slightly posterior to Vgl-2; ventral margin of P-3 without serration, ventral margin of P-4 with fine serration. Molecular: This lineage corresponds to a unique Barcode Index Number (BIN) BOLD: AGP6165, which differs from the T. ungeri ungeri clade (BOLD:AED2307) by 8.60% K2P divergence in the COI gene.
NEW SPECIES OF TORRENTICOLA UNGERI COMPLEx Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press · 9 FIGuRe 2. Torrenticola galaica sp. nov., ♀ holotype [BGE_00580_F08], Podame, Portugal: A—dorsal shield; B—ventral shield; C—gnathosoma; D—palp, lateral view (P-1 lacking); E—palp, medial view (inset: P-5, enlarged 2x). Scale bars = 100 μm.
PEŠIĆ ET AL. 16 · Zootaxa 5717 (1) © 2025 Magnolia Press Acknowledgements Biodiversity Genomics Europe is funded by Horizon Europe under the Biodiversity, Circular Economy and Environment call (REA.B.3); co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract numbers 22.00173 and 24.00054; and by the UK Research and Innovation under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Horizon Europe Guarantee Scheme. SF were funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the program ‘Stimulus of Scientific Employment, Individual Support’ (https://doi.org/10.54499/2020.03526.CEECIND/CP1601/CP1649/CT0007). The authors would like to acknowledge CISE and Seia Municipality for the logistic support during the fieldwork and to Ana Cruz-Oliveira and Martin Corley for the great company during fieldwork. We thank Elisabeth Stur (Trondheim), Harry Smit (Alkmaar) and one anonymous reviewer, whose constructive comments greatly improved this work. References Cicolani, B. & Di Sabatino, A. (1990) Recherches faunistiques et écologiques sur la Hydracariens del’Apennin (Italie). Le genre Torrenticola Piersig (Acari, Actinedida, Torrenticolidae). Annales de Limnologie – International Journal of Limnology, 26 (2–3), 153–176. https://doi.org/10.1051/limn/1990014 Cook, D.R. (1967) Water mites from India. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 9, 1–411. Di Sabatino, A. & Cicolani, B. (1990) Torrenticola meridionalis n. sp., a new species of water mites (Acari, Actinedida, Torrenticolidae) from the calabrian apennines (South Italy). Lauterbornia, 5, 43–48. Di Sabatino, A., Gerecke, R., Gledhill, T. & Smit, H. (2010) Acari: Hydrachnidia II. In: Gerecke, R. (Ed.), Chelicerata: Acari II. Süßwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa. Vol. 7. 2–2. Elsevier Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, pp. 1–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8274-2266-8_1 Di Sabatino, A., Gerecke, R., Smit, H., Pesic, V. & Panesar, A. (2003) Water mites of the family Torrenticolidae (Acari, Actinedida, Hydrachnidia) from the Eastern Mediterranean region. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Supplement, 139 (3), 1–39. Edgar, R.C. (2004) MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high 679 throughput. Nucleic acids research, 32 (5), 1792–1797. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkh340 Erman, O., Pešić, V., Esen, Y. & Özkan, M. (2010) A checklist of the water mites of Turkey (Acari: Hydrachnidia) with description of two new species. Zootaxa, 2624 (1), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2624.1.1 Felsenstein, J. (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39, 783–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2408678 Gerecke, R., Gledhill, T., Pešić, V. & Smit, H. (2016) Chelicerata: Acari III. In: Gerecke, R. (Ed.), Süßwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa, Bd. 7/2-3. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 1–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8274-2689-5 Kimura, M. (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rate of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 16, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01731581 Lundblad, O. (1956) Zur Kenntnis südund mitteleuropäischer Hydrachnellen. Arkiv för Zoology, 10 (1), 1–306. Lundblad, O. (1971) Weitere Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Fliesswassermilben Javas. Arkiv för Zoology, 23, 293–359. Pešić, V. & Goldschmidt, T. (2023) New DNA-assisted records of water mites from Sardinia, with the description of a new species (Acari, Hydrachnidia). Ecologica Montenegrina, 69, 24–44. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2023.69.4 Pešić, V. & Smit, H. (2022) Water mites of Corsica: DNA barcode and morphological evidences. International Journal of Acarology, 48, 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2022.2086619 Pešić, V., Semenchenko, K., Chatterjee, T., Yam, R.S.W. & Chan, B.K.K. (2011) New records of water mites of the family Torrenticolidae (Acari, Hydrachnidia) with descriptions of two new species from Nanshih River system in Taiwan and redescription of Torrenticola ussuriensis (Sokolow, 1940) from the Russian Far East. ZooKeys, 116, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.116.1253 Pešić, V., Valdecasas, A.G. & García-Jimenez, R. (2012) Simultaneous evidence for a new species of Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Montenegro. Zootaxa, 3515 (1), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3515.1.2 Pešić, V., Semenchenko, K. & Lee, W. (2013a) Torrenticolid water mites from Korea and the Russian Far East. ZooKeys, 299, 21–48. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.299.5272
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