Cosmolaelaps markewitschi (Pirianyk, 1959) new combination

Figures 27–30

Laelaspis markewitschi Pirianyk, 1959: 97 .

Laelaspis markewitschi .— Reitblat, 1963: 81; Lapina, 1976: 52; Bregetova, 1977: 547. Hypoaspis markewitschi .— Shcherbak, 1971b: 29.

Gymnolaelaps markewitschi .—Joharchi et al., 2012: 2013; Moreira, 2014: 276.

Specimen examined: Microslide ZMB 42551, Nr. 4395 female, labelled Laelaspis markewitschi Pirianyk, 1959, Det. Pirianyk, 5.10.1968, coll. Duderenko.

Notes. This species was collected in soil, forest litter, rotten stumps, ant and rodent nests in Russia and Ukraine. Its genitoventral shield is not markedly widened behind coxae IV; Zv1 and Jv1 setae are off the genital shield close to its lateral margins; the dorsal shield has 40 pairs of setae, which possess a small knob at their bases (Fig. 27); the epistome has a denticulate anterior margin (Fig. 28); the palp chaetotaxy is normal (sensu Evans & Till, 1965), with acicular setae, except al on femur and al1–2 on genu thickened; and the palp tarsal claw is twotined (Fig. 29). Gwiazdowicz et al. (2014) described the presternal shields in Cosmolaelaps . In some species the presternal plates may be fused with the anterior margin of the sternal shield; in this case the anterior margin of the sternal shield has a small notch with a small reticulated bulge on each side, so the first pair of sternal setae (st1) and iv1 were located behind the anterior margin of the shield; for example C. serratus Trägårdh, C. simplex v. digrediens (Berlese), C. guttulata (Karg), C. bipennata (Karg), and C. markewitschi (Pirianyk) (Fig. 30).

Joharchi et al. (2012) excluded this species from Laelaspis due to the absence of the characteristic ornamentation of the genital shield, and transferred it to Gymnolaelaps, but based on the above explanation this species has the main characters of Cosmolaelaps and we considered it as a member of this genus.