Olopachys caucasicus Koroleva, 1976

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 : 271

Olopachys caucasicus Koroleva, 1976 ( Fig. 1 )

Diagnosis

Female with dorsal shield 680–800 long, 440–528 wide (length/width ratio: 1.51–1.54). Dorsal shield setae J1 84–100, J2–3 100–112, J4 53–64, J5 reduced, 16–18 (J4 / J5 ratio: 3.31–3.55). Sternal shield 220–240 long, 120–140 wide (length/width ratio: 1.71–1.83). Genitiventrianal shield 344–416 long, 308–360 wide (length/width ratio: 1.11–1.15). Two pairs of close slit-shaped gland pores on posterolateral margins of dorsal shield. Soft lateral and opisthogastric integument bearing 13 pairs of smooth setae, containing seven and six pairs of opisthogastric and marginal setae, respectively. Tarsus II with two spur-like distal setae. Sperm access system with a short, slightly curved tube.

Material examined – 3 females, Saravan forest , from soil under pine trees, 11 July 2015 ; 1 female, Rezvanshahr-Talesh Gisoum forest , from moss of oak tree, 24 November 2015 ; 1 female, Guilan University pine forest, from soil under pine tree, 25 November 2015 ; 1 female, Saravan forest , from soil under pine tree, 14 June 2016 .

Distribution and habitats in Iran – This species was previously found in soil, leaf-litter and decaying trunk of trees in Mazandaran (Nowshahr and Ecology Garden of Nowshahr) and East Azerbaijan (Arasbaran forests) provinces ( Ahangaran et al. 2010; Mohammad-Dustar-Sharaf et al. 2016a, b; Saberi et al. 2016).

World distribution – Armenia and Georgia ( Koroleva 1976, 1977b).

Notes – This is the first record of this species in Guilan province. According to the original description of the species provided by Koroleva (1976) studying an individual female, the length and width of dorsal shield were considered as 690 and 450, respectively, while here we measured six specimens, most of which were longer and wider than the Koroleva's specimen .

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.