First record of the genusParagigagnathusAmitai and Grinberg, 1971 (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) from Saudi Arabia with description of a new species

Abstract

The genus Paragigagnathus Amitai and Grinberg (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is reported for the first time from Saudi Arabia. Paragigagnathus desertorum (Amitai and Swirski) and P. insuetus (Livshitz and Kuznetsov) were collected from Acacia sp. (Fabaceae) and Tamarix sp. (Tamaricaceae), respectively. Paragigagnathus madinaensis n. sp. is described and illustrated. The new species was found on Tamarix sp. in association with Obdulia daadi Al-Gboory (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae) from Al-Riyadh and Al-Madina regions of Saudi Arabia.

A new species of Paragigagnathus Amitai and Grinberg (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) from Iran

“…The genus Paragigagnathus Amitai and Grinberg, 1971, consists of two species groups, desertorum and strunkovae, which based on the position of setae ST3 (on or off sternal shield, respectively), and include 12 species in total (Demite et al 2021; Kreiter et al 2021. The strunkovae species group is composed of seven species: P. strunkovae (Wainstein 1973), P. cataractus (Ueckermann and Loots 1988), P. molestus (Kolodochka 1989), P. bidentatus (Kuznetsov 1994), P. madinaensis Alatawi, Kamran and Basahih, in Alatawi et al (2015), P. iraniensis Khanjani, Karimi, Asali-Fayaz andUeckermann, in Khanjani et al (2016), P. philippei Kreiter et al 2021. The desertorum species groups composed of five species: P. tamaricis Amitai and Grinberg (1971), P. insuetus (Livshitz and Kuznetsov 1972), P.…”