Eriophyid Mites in the Genusaculodeskeifer (prostigmata: Eriophyidae) from Grasses – the First Taxon from South America and World Species Information

Aculodes Keifer (Eriophyidae) mites are often associated with grasses (Poaceae) and so far all species in this genus were described from the Northern hemisphere. During surveys of eriophyid mites from grasses conducted in Argentina aiming to determine the host range of the wheat curl mite, a new Aculodes species was collected from the feather grass, Stipa sp. The first Aculodes species is described from the Southern hemisphere. In addition to the traditional morphological description, DNA sequences of two genomic regions - the ITS rDNA and the 16S region mtDNA- were obtained and deposited in public databases; genetic distances of the new taxon with eriophyid species/genera associated with grasses are presented. In order to contribute to Aculodes taxonomy, a list for world grasses-associated species is provided and information on its morphological traits is summarized.