Pachylaelaps pectinifer (G. Canestrini, 1881)

Mojahed, Samaneh, Hajizadeh, Jalil, Hosseini, Reza & Ahadiyat, Ali, 2017, Contribution to the Pachylaelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) fauna in some parts of Guilan province of Iran, Persian Journal of Acarology 6 (4), pp. 269-285 : 277

Pachylaelaps pectinifer (G. Canestrini, 1881) ( Fig. 3 )

Diagnosis

Female with dorsal shield oval, middle-sized, 800–816 long, 496–512 wide (length/width ratio: 1.59–1.61). Dorsal shield simple, needle-like. Setae J1 57–60, J2 77–80, J3 80–83, J4 85–88, J5 17– 18 (J4 / J5 ratio: 4.88–5). Sternal shield 240–272 long, 120–128 wide (length/width ratio: 2–2.12). Genitiventral shield 248–280 long, 280–296 wide (length/width 0.88–0.94). Anal shield subtriangular, 80–96 long, 152–168 wide (length/width ratio: 0.52–0.57). All ventral shields well reticulated. Two pairs of almost adjacent slit-shaped gland pores on posterolateral margins of dorsal shield. Soft lateral and opisthogastric integument bearing 14 pairs of smooth setae, containing six and eight pairs of marginal and opisthogastric setae, respectively. Tarsus II with two spur-like distal setae. Epistome with a distally serrated projection with long, narrow neck. Sperm access system with a well sclerotized Y-shaped tube.

Male with dorsal shield 680–696 long, 400–472 wide (length/width ratio: 1.47–1.70). Dorsal shield setae J1 55–60, J2 80–88, J3 77–80, J4 82–84, J5 7–8 (J4 / J5 ratio: 10.50–11.71). Palptibia with no outgrowth. Tarsus II with two spur-like setae pl1 and pl2. Cheliceral spermatodactyle elongate, about 1.5 x as long as movable digit.

Material examined – 4 females and 1 male, Astaneh- Ashrafieh Safrabasteh forest , from soil under oak trees, 2 July 2015 ; 1 male, Shaft Chubar forest , from soil under pine tree, 9 June 2016 ; 1 female, Astaneh- Ashrafieh Safrabasteh forest , from soil under oak trees, 14 June 2016 .

Distribution and habitats in Iran – This species is widely distributed in Iran. It was found in soil, leaf-litter, plant debris, and in association with a scarabaeid beetle, Copris hispanus (Linnaeus, 1764) , in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari (Saman, Shahrekord), Fars (Northwestern area), Golestan (Marzankalateh), Guilan (Region not mentioned), Isfahan (Najaf Abad, Mobarake, Kashan), Kerman (Baft, Jiroft), Lorestan (Khorramabad), Mazandaran (Nowshahr), Tehran (e.g. Rudbaar-Qasran of Shemiranat), West Azerbaijan (Miandoab, Urmia) provinces ( Jalaeian et al. 2004; Ahangaran et al. 2010; Babaeian and Kazemi 2011; Bahrami et al. 2011; Rajaei et al. 2011; Rezaie et al. 2011; Sekonji et al. 2011; Ahadiyat and Cheraghali 2012; Balooch Shahryari et al. 2012; Ghasemi Moghadam and Ahadiyat 2012; Nazari-Tajani et al. 2012; Hasanvand et al. 2014; Zarei and Kazemi 2014; Abolghasemi and Kazemi 2016; Abutaleb Kermani et al. 2017; Shariati et al. 2017).

World distribution – Azerbaijan, Croatia, East Russia, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, North Africa, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the USA ( Koroleva 1977b; Salmane 2001; Salmane and Kontschán 2005, 2006; Mašán 2007; Kaczmarek et al. 2009; Mašán and Halliday 2009, 2014a).

Figures

Figures 1–3. Sternal shields in females – 1. Olopachys caucasicus; 2. Olopachys compositus with tubes of the sperm access systems; 3. Pachylaelaps pectinifer with tubes of the sperm access systems. Scale bars = 50 μm.