­Description of a new species of Stigmaeus (Acari: Stigmaeidae) with notes on species described from Northwest Iran

Abstract

During a study of predatory mites in Urmia, Northwestern Iran, the female and male of a new species, Stigmaeus dokeri sp. nov. (Acari: Stigmaeidae), were collected from soil under oak trees. The specimens of the following species, S. malekii Haddad Irani-Nejad, Bagheri & Khanjani, 2006, S. boshroyehensis Khanjani, Izadi, Asali-Fayaz, Raisi, Rostami & Doğan, 2010, S. miandoabiensis Bagheri & Zarei, 2012 and S. marandiensis Bagheri & Ueckermann, 2011, were re-examined. We propose that S. boshroyehensis syn. nov. is a junior synonym of S. malekii. We also found S. miandoabiensis and S. marandiensis having bifurcate terminal eupathidium on palptarsus instead of tridentate in the original descriptions.