Pachylaelaps grandis Koroleva, 1977

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 : 276

Pachylaelaps grandis Koroleva, 1977

Diagnosis

Female with dorsal shield 920–1040 long, 632–704 wide (length/width ratio: 1.45–1.47). Most of dorsal idiosomal setae long, extending well behind the insertion of next setae. Sternal shield 256– 304 long, 128–160 wide (length/width ratio: 1.90–2), reticulated almost in two third anterior half, smooth posteriorly. Genitoventral shield wider than long, 320–360 long, 384–456 wide (length/width ratio: 0.78–0.83), posterior margin straight. Anal shield 96–152 long, 232–256 wide (length/width ratio: 0.41–0.59). Two pairs of adjacent slit-shaped gland pores (gdZ1, gdS4) on posterolateral margins of dorsal shield. Soft lateral and opisthogastric integument bearing 15 pairs of smooth setae, containing eight and seven pairs of opisthogastric and marginal setae, respectively. Tarsus II with two spur-like distal setae.

Material examined – 3 females, Shaft Chubar forest, from soil under pine and poplar trees, 18 June 2015; 2 females, Astaneh-Ashrafieh Safrabasteh forest, from soil under oak trees, 2 July 2015; 7 females, Saravan forest, from soil under ironwood ( Parrotia persica , Hamamelidaceae ), oak and pine trees, 11 July 2015; 3 females, Shaft Chubar forest, from soil under pine and oak trees, 11 July 2015; 2 females, Rezvanshahr-Talesh Gisoum forest, from soil and moss under pine trees, 24 November 2015; 2 females, Guilan University pine forest, from soil under pine trees, 25 November 2015; 4 females, Shaft Chubar forest, from soil under poplar trees, 9 June 2016; 3 females, Saravan forest, from soil under hawthorn trees, 14 June 2016.

Distribution and habitats in Iran – This species was found in soil, leaf-litter and plant debris in Golestan (Kalale, Minudasht), Mazandaran (Ecology Garden of Nowshahr) and Tehran (Rudbar-e Qasran of Shemiranat) provinces ( Ahadiyat and Cheraghali 2012; Zakeri et al. 2012; Saberi et al. 2016).

World distribution – Armenia, Georgia and Russia ( Koroleva 1977a, b; Mašán and Halliday 2014a).

Note – This is the first record of this species in Guilan province.