Key to Parholaspididae species in Iran

1. Peritrematal shield fused with ventrianal shield shield........................................................ 2

- Peritrematal shield not fused with ventrianal shield.......................................................... 3

2. Genital shield fused to ventrianal shield (Figure 12); sternal shield without T-shaped groove and oval pits; movable digit of chelicera longer than corniculi; cheliceral seta smooth, pointed, needle-like........... Holaspulus tenuipes Berlese, 1904

- Genital shield not fused to ventrianal shield (Figure 13); sternal shield with a T-shaped groove and some oval pits; movable digit of chelicera shorter than corniculi; cheliceral seta expanded, wedge-shaped.... Neparhoaspis arcuatus Petrova, 1977

3. Metasternal setae (st4) on separate metasternal shields....................................................... 4

- Metasternal setae (st4) on sternometasternal shields (fused sternal and metasternal shields); peritrematal shield fused to the sternometasternal shield between coxae I–III, posteriorly fused with the parapodal shield and extended beyond posterior margin of the coxae IV; genitiventrianal shield longer than wide, reticulate, flask-shaped and bearing four pairs of setae st5, JV1–3, as well as three circumanal setae (Figure 16)............................. Krantzolaspina angustatus (Ishikawa, 1987)

4. Pre-sternal area with one pair of free and elongate pre-sternal platelets; dorsal shield setae often modified, strongly expanded or lanceolate; chelicerae short and robust.................................................................. 5

- Pre-sternal area with several pairs of pre-sternal platelets; dorsal shield setae always smooth, pointed and needle-like; chelicerae long and slender...................................................................................... 7

5. Setae on the dorsal shield and some of the pleuralsetae slightly expanded, lanceolate; sternal shield covered with a clear regular reticulum made up of evenly sized cells; tarsi of legs I without claws; apices of tarsi II without strongly thickened setae; on the wide ventrianal shield behind coxae IV there is a pair of darkly-colored characteristic thickenings.......................................................................... Gamasholaspis browningi (Bregetova & Koroleva, 1960)

- All body setae acicular; sternal shield with a different ornamentation; on the tip of tarsus II there is a strongly thickened seta; ventrianal shield without darkly-colored thickenings......................................................... 6

6. Anterior margin of ventrianal shield with a deep notch, in which there is positioned the posterior part of the genital shield; sternal shield ornamented with a network of ridges laterally and coarse punctuations medially (Figure 14)................................................................................ Gamasholaspis gamasoides Berlese, 1904

- Anterior margin of ventrianal shield weakly notched or straight; sternal shield reticulate medially and punctates laterally (Figure 15).............................................................. Gamasholaspis akimotoi (Ishikawa, 1966)

7. Genital shield fused with ventrianal shield; peritremes extending anterodorsally to middle of coxa I; movable digit of chelicera with equal length to corniculus............................................ Holaspina muscorum (Ewing, 1909)

- Genital shield not fused with ventrianal shield; peritremes extending anteriorly beyond coxa II; movable digit of chelicera slightly longer than corniculus (Figure 17)..................................... Parholaspulus alstoni Evans, 1956