A new species of Aculus mite (Acari: Eriophyidae), a potential biocontrol agent for Australian swamp stonecrop, Crassula helmsii (Crassulaceae)
Abstract
A new, gall-forming eriophyoid mite species is described from Australia. Aculus crassulae sp. nov. was found causing significant leaf deformation in Crassula helmsii (Kirk) Cockayne (Crassulaceae), a semi-aquatic, succulent plant. Native to Australia and New Zealand, this plant is now a highly invasive weed in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. The host specificity of the new mite species, and damage caused to the host plant, infer its potential to be a valuable biological control agent in countries where Australian swamp stonecrop is threatening native flora. The species description provided here, which also includes a revised diagnosis for the genus Aculus, incorporates line drawings and scanning electron micrographs (SEM). This is supplemented by a partial mitochondrial gene sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) and the sequence was compared with Aculus amygdali Xue & Hong and Aculus ichnocarpi (Ghosh & Chakrabarati) available in the NCBI database. Pairwise comparis...on of mtCOI sequences between A. crassulae sp. nov. and two congeneric species revealed 22.6% and 23.1% genetic divergence, respectively.
Keywords:
biological control / DNA barcoding / taxonomy / eriophyid / eriophyoid mites / Eriophyoidea / gall mite / weedsSource:
Zootaxa, 2018, 4497, 4, 573-585Publisher:
- Magnolia Press, Auckland
Projects:
- Agrobiodiversity and land-use change in Serbia: an integrated biodiversity assessment of key functional groups of arthropods and plant pathogens (RS-43001)
- United Kingdom Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4497.4.7
ISSN: 1175-5326
PubMed: 30313649