Ololaelaps placidus (Banks)

Joharchi, Omid, Halliday, Bruce, Khaustov, Alexander A. & Ermilov, Sergey G., 2018, Some soil-inhabiting mites from Zanzibar (Acari: Laelapidae), Zootaxa 4514 (1), pp. 23-40 : 37

Ololaelaps placidus (Banks)

Laelaps placidus Banks, 1895: 128 .

Ololaelaps placidus .— Hennessey & Farrier, 1988: 32; Farrier & Hennessey, 1993: 84.

Hypoaspis venetus Berlese, 1903: 14 (synonymy by Hennessey & Farrier, 1988: 32).

Ololaelaps venetus .— Berlese, 1904: 260; Hull, 1918: 66; Ryke, 1962:125.

Ololaelaps veneta .— Evans & Till, 1966: 231; Bregetova, 1977: 541.

Pseudoparasitus (Ololaelaps) venetus .— Karg, 1978: 209; 1981: 210; 1993: 133.

Laelaps magnichela Ewing, 1909: 65 (synonymy by Hennessey & Farrier, 1988: 32; Farrier & Hennessey, 1993: 84).

Laelaps flavus Ewing, 1909: 66 (synonymy by Hennessey & Farrier, 1988: 32; Farrier & Hennessey, 1993: 84).

Laelaps tumidulus (Koch) sensu G. & R. Canestrini, 1882a: 70 (synonymy by Ryke, 1962: 125; Evans & Till, 1966: 231). Ololaelaps halaskovae Bregetova & Koroleva, 1964: 81 (synonymy by Evans & Till, 1966: 231; Bregetova, 1977: 541).

Specimens examined: Four females, Tanzania, Zanzibar, forest litter, 06°16'S, 039°25' E, 8 m. a.s.l., 2 February 2018, coll. S.G. Ermilov, A.A. Khaustov (in TUMZ).

Notes. Most of the information on this species has been published under the names Ololaelaps venetus or Pseudoparasitus (Ololaelaps) venetus . Hennessey & Farrier (1988) considered that Ololaelaps venetus , Laelaps flavus and Laelaps magnichela are synonyms of Ololaelaps placidus . Ryke (1962) and Evans & Till (1966) considered that Laelaps tumidulus (Koch) sensu G. & R. Canestrini (1882a), which was redescribed by Berlese (1889: 5), is a synonym of Ololaelaps venetus . Evans & Till (1966) and Bregetova (1977) considered that Ololaelaps halaskovae is also synonym of Ololaelaps venetus . We have presented an extensive synonymy of the species to emphasise that it is well-known under several different names, and very widely distributed in North America, Europe, and Russia. It is now recorded in Zanzibar for the first time, from soil and litter. The species may be recognised easily by the fusion of the peritrematal, metapodal and exopodal shields behind coxa IV, and the lateral fusion of these shields to the genito-ventro-anal shield. Our concept of the species is based on that of Evans & Till (1966) and specimens agree completely with Evans & Till (1966, Figure 49) and is now recorded in Zanzibar for the first time, from soil and litter.