Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5799 No. 1: 24 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-24
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5799.1.8
Page range: 157-170
Abstract views: 58
PDF downloaded: 4

Integrative taxonomy uncovers two new pontarachnid mite species from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea (Pontarachnidae, Hydrachnidia, Acari)

Department of Biology; University of Montenegro; Cetinjski put b.b.; 81000 Podgorica; Montenegro
Institute of Biology; University of Szczecin; 71-415 Szczecin; Waska 13; Poland
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology; University of Lodz; Banacha 12/16; 90-237 Łódź; Poland
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences; University of Szczecin; 71-415 Szczecin; Waska 13; Poland
University of Education; Bank Road Campus; Punjab; Pakistan
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences; University of Szczecin; 71-415 Szczecin; Waska 13; Poland
Acari water mites taxonomy Mediterranean Sea red Sea marine environments

Abstract

The diversity of Pontarachnidae, the only family of hydrachnid mites occurring in marine environments, remains poorly documented morphologically and molecularly in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent marine ecosystems, including the Red Sea. Using an integrative taxonomic approach, we described two new species: Litarachna cypriotica sp. nov. from the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus) and Pontarachna goldschmidti sp. nov. from the Red Sea (Egypt). Interspecific K2P genetic distances exceeded 17% for both new species. Species boundaries were consistently supported across all applied species delimitation analyses. In addition, the presence of Litarachna smiti Pešić, Chatterjee & Ahmed Abada, 2008 was molecularly confirmed for Egypt for the first time, and Pontarachna punctulum Philippi, 1840 was proposed to be removed from the list of Red Sea pontarachnid mites. This study underscores the largely unexplored diversity of pontarachnid mites and highlights the importance of molecular approaches in elucidating the evolutionary mechanisms underlying this diversity.

 

References

  1. Artüz, M.L. & Pešić, V. (2016) First record of female intersex in Litarachna communis Walter, 1925 (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 62 (3), 274–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2016.1202971
  2. Astrin, J.J. & Stüben, P.E. (2008) Phylogeny in cryptic weevils: molecules, morphology and new genera of western Palaearctic Cryptorhynchinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Invertebrate Systematics, 22, 503–522. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS07057
  3. Bialik, O.M., Frank, M., Betzler, C., Zammit, R. & Waldmann, N.D. (2019) Two-step closure of the Miocene Indian ocean gateway to the Mediterranean. Scientific Reports, 9 (1), 8842. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45308-7
  4. Chatterjee, T., Schizas, N.V. & Pešić, V. (2019) A checklist of Pontarachnidae (Acari: Hydrachnidia) and notes on distributional patterns of the species. Zootaxa, 4619 (3), 527–544. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4619.3.6
  5. Comai, L. & Howell, T. (2012) Barcode Generator. Veresion 2.8. Available from: http://comailab.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/index.php/Barcode_generator (accessed 15 June 2024)
  6. Cook, D.R. (1996) A freshwater species of Pontarachna (Acari, Pontarachnidae) from South Africa, with a discussion of genital acetabula in the family. Anales Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Seria Zoología, 67, 259–264.
  7. Durucan, F. (2021) New records of marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia, Pontarachnidae) from Turkey. Persian Journal of Acarology, 10 (2), 145–153. https://doi.org/10.22073/pja.v10i2.65665
  8. Durucan, F., Chatterjee, T. & Pešić, V. (2018) Two new species of the marine water mite family Pontarachnidae (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Gulf of Antalya, Turkey. Zootaxa, 4531 (2), 271–278. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4531.2.8
  9. 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
  10. Felsenstein, J. (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39, 783–791. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1985.tb00420.x
  11. Goldschmidt, T., Zawal, A., Bańkowska, A., Mavrić, B., Melzer, R.L., Smit, H., Rewicz, T., Górecka, E. & Pešić, V. (2026) DNA Barcoding reveals a remarkable genetic diversity of pontarachnid mites (Pontarachnidae, Hydrachnidia) in the Adriatic Sea, including the description of a new species from Slovenia. The European Zoological Journal. [in press]
  12. Hrbek, T. & Meyer, A. (2003) Closing of the Tethys Sea and the phylogeny of Eurasian kill fishes (Cyprinodontiformes: Cyprinodontidae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 16, 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00475.x
  13. Huyse, T., Van Houdt, J. & Volckaert, F.A. (2004) Paleoclimatic history and vicariant speciation in the “sand goby” group (Gobiidae, Teleostei). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 32 (1), 324–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.007
  14. Kapli, P., Lutteropp, S., Zhang, J., Kobert, K., Pavlidis, P., Stamatakis, A. & Flouri, T. (2017) Multi-rate Poisson tree processes for single-locus species delimitation under maximum likelihood and Markov chain Monte Carlo. Bioinformatics, 33 (11), 1630–1638. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btx025
  15. 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
  16. Koç, K., Türksel, M. & Pešić, V. (2015) New records of marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia, Pontarachnidae) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Izmir Bay, Turkey). Zoology of the Middle East, 61, 285–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2015.1069248
  17. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Li, M., Knyaz, C. & Tamura, K. (2018) MEGA X: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis across computing platforms. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35, 1547–1549. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy096
  18. Morselli, I. (1980) Su tre Acari Prostigmati di acque salmastre dell’alto Adriatico. Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali: Memorie, Serie B, 87, 181–195.
  19. Patarnello, T., Volckaert, F.A. & Castilho, R. (2007) Pillars of Hercules: is the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition a phylogeographical break? Molecular Ecology, 16 (21), 4426–4444. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03477.x
  20. Pešić, V. (2013) A new marine water mite species (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Pontarachnidae) from a coastal lake in Southeast Madagascar. Marine Biology Research, 9 (3), 312–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2012.739697
  21. Pešić, V., Chatterjee, T. & Ahmed Abada, A.E. (2008a) A new species of marine water mite (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from the Red Sea. Systematic and Applied Acarology, 13, 133–136. https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.13.2.6
  22. Pešić, V., Chatterjee, T. & Ahmed Abada, A.E. (2008b) Marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from the Red Sea, with description of one new species. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 49, 375–379.
  23. Pešić, V., Chatterjee, T., Chan, B.K.K. & Ingole, B. (2008c) Marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from Taiwan, Korea and India, with the first description of the male of Pontarachna australis Smit, 2003. Systematic and Applied Acarology, 13, 70–74. https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.13.1.8
  24. Pešić, V., Chatterjee, T., Marshall, D. & Pavićević, A. (2011) New records of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from Brunei Darussalam, Borneo, with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa, 3018 (1), 50–58. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3018.1.5
  25. Pešić, V., Chatterjee, T., Ingole, B., Velip, D. & Pavićević, A. (2012) A new species of Litarachna Walter, 1925 (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the West Indian Coast, with a discussion on the diversity of the family Pontarachnidae Koenike, 1910. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 53, 547–553.
  26. Pešić, V., Durucan, F. & Zawal, A. (2019) Marine mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of the Mediterranean Sea: Descriptions of two new species, key for identification and future prospects. Zootaxa, 4585 (3), 501–516. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4585.3.6
  27. Pešić, V., Smit, H. & Konopleva, E.S. (2023) Molecular phylogeny and description of Hygrobates cyrnusensis sp. nov. reveals multiple colonization of Corsica by water mites of the H. fluviatilis-complex (Acariformes, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae). Acarologia, 63 (1), 262–274. https://doi.org/10.24349/h12f-rs8x
  28. Pešić, V., Zawal, A., Bańkowska, A., Araujo, R., Sługocki, Ł., Rewicz, T., Krakowiak, M., Michoński, G., Girão, D., Silva, L.P., Órfão, I., M. Raposeiro, P., Ballini, L., Stryjecki, R., Ekrem, T. & Ferreira, S. (2025) Exploring the water mite fauna (Acari, Hydrachnidia) of the Madeira archipelago: DNA Barcoding reveals a remarkable species endemicity. Zootaxa, 5621 (5), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5621.5.1
  29. Pešić, V., Konopleva, E.S., Girão, D., Vergata, C., Sousa, L.G. & Ferreira, S. (2026) Molecular phylogeny reveals a new species of the Hygrobates longipalpis complex from Portugal (Acariformes, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae). Ecologica Montenegrina, 94, 84–97. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2026.94.3
  30. Pešić, V., Batista-Ribeiro, D., Pepato, A. & Smit, H. (2026) First records of the marine water mite family Pontarachnidae Koenike, 1910 from New Zealand (Acari: Hydrachnidia), with the description of one new species. Acarologia, 66 (1), 134–148. https://doi.org/10.24349/rje7-i3ne
  31. Philippi, R.A. (1840) Zoologische Bemerkungen. VI. Pontarachna punctulum Ph., eine Hydrachnide des Meeres. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 6, 181–195.
  32. Puillandre, N., Brouillet, S. & Achaz, G. (2021) ASAP: assemble species by automatic partitioning. Molecular Ecology Resources, 21, 609–620. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13281
  33. Ratnasingham, S. & Hebert, P.D.N. (2007) BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data System (http://www.barcodinglife.org). Molecular Ecology Notes, 7, 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01678.x
  34. Ratnasingham, S. & Hebert, P.D. (2013) A DNA-based registry for all animal species: the Barcode Index Number (BIN) system. PLoS ONE, 8, e66213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066213
  35. Rouchy, J.M., Orszag-Sperber, F., Blanc-Valleron, M.M., Pierre, C., Rivière, M., Combourieu-Nebout, N. & Panayides, I. (2001) Paleoenvironmental changes at the Messinian–Pliocene boundary in the eastern Mediterranean (southern Cyprus basins): significance of the Messinian Lago-Mare. Sedimentary Geology, 145 (1), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(01)00126-9
  36. Smit, H. (2003) Five new species of the water mite family Pontarachnidae from Western Australia (Acari: Hydrachnidia). In: Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I. & Jones, D.S. (Eds.), The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia 2. Western Australian Museum, Perth, pp. 547–562.
  37. Smit, H. (2007) Litarachna brasiliensis n. sp., the first member of the water mite family Pontarachnidae (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from South America. Systematic & Applied Acarology, 12, 141–146. https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.12.2.8
  38. Srivathsan, A., Hartop, E., Puniamoorthy, J., Lee, W.T., Kutty, S.N., Kurina, O. & Meier, R. (2019) Rapid, large-scale species discovery in hyperdiverse taxa using 1D MinION sequencing. BMC Biology, 17, 96. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-019-0706-9
  39. Srivathsan, A., Lee, L., Katoh, K., Hartop, E., Kutty, S.N., Wong, J., Yeo, D. & Meier, R. (2021) ONTbarcoder and MinION barcodes aid biodiversity discovery and identification by everyone, for everyone. BMC Biology, 19, 217. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-021-01141-x
  40. Srivathsan, A., Feng, V., Suárez, D., Emerson, B. & Meier, R. (2024) ONTbarcoder 2.0: Rapid Species Discovery and Identification With Real-Time Barcoding Facilitated by Oxford Nanopore R10.4. Cladistics, 40 (2), 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12566
  41. Viets, K.O. (1959) Einige marine Wassermilben (Hydrachnellae, Acari) aus dem Roten Meer. Kieler Meeresforschungen, 15, 109–112.
  42. Viets, K.O. (1966) Eine neue Pontarachna-Art aus dem Roten Meer Pontarachna erythraea n. sp. (Acari: Hydrachnellae). Kieler Meeresforschungen, 22, 128–132.
  43. Walter, C. (1925) Marine Hygrobatidae. Revision der Wassermilben-Genera Pontarachna Philippi und Nautarachna Moniez. Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie und Hydrographie, 14, 1–54. https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.19250140102
  44. Wiles, P.R., Chatterjee, T. & De Troch, M. (2002) Two new and one known marine water mite (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from South-East Africa. Journal of Natural History, 36, 1987–1994. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930110068583

How to Cite

Pešić, V., Bańkowska, A., Rewicz, T., Górecka, E., Asif, M. & Zawal, A. (2026) Integrative taxonomy uncovers two new pontarachnid mite species from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea (Pontarachnidae, Hydrachnidia, Acari). Zootaxa, 5799 (1), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5799.1.8