Two new species of Gaeolaelaps (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) from Iran, with a revised generic concept and notes on significant morphological characters in the genus

Abstract

Two new species of laelapid mites of the genus Gaeolaelaps Evans & Till are described based on adult females collected from soil and litter in Kerman Province, southeastern Iran, and Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Gaeolaelaps jondishapouri Nemati & Kavianpour is redescribed based on the holotype and additional specimens collected in southeastern Iran. The concept of the genus is revised to incorporate some atypical characters of recently described species. Finally, some morphological attributes with potential to define natural species groupings as well as hypoaspidine genera are discussed, particularly idiosomal gland pores and poroids.

A new genus and species of Laelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Iran

“…The notation for idiosomal setae follows that of Lindquist & Evans (1965) adapted by Evans & Till (1965, 1966 and Lindquist (1994); notation for leg and palp setae follows that of Evans (1963aEvans ( , 1963b, and that for idiosomal pore-like structures as gland pores and poroids (proprioceptors or stress receptors, often called 'lyrifissures', perhaps most appropriately when lyre-shaped or slit-like) (Athias-Henriot, 1969 follows mostly that of Athias-Henriot (1971 adapted by Kazemi et al (2014).…”

“…The sternal shield is also broader than long in Ololaelaps, Laelaspisella and Pogonolaelaps, and concave posteriorly (also in Reticulolaelaps), seemingly also to accommodate the anterior expansion of the epigynal shield, a correlation seen in some members of many other genera of laelapids or relatives, especially associated with insects (e.g. Pneumolaelaps, Holostaspis, Laelaspis, Bisternalis, insect-associated Gaeolaelaps, Gymnolaelaps myrmophila (Michael), Melittiphisoides, Melittiphis alvearius (Berlese); Evans & Till, 1966;Baker et al, 1983;Delfinado-Baker et al, 1984;Kazemi et al, 2014) or vertebrates (Androlaelaps, Haemogamasus;Till, 1963) and more strikingly in dermanyssids, macronyssids and hirstionyssids (Evans & Till, 1966;Domrow, 1988), for which this may represent an adaptation for an increased capacity for engorgement in blood by having the opisthogastric region mostly covered by soft cuticle (Radovsky, 1969).…”

“…Knowledge of the laelapid fauna of Iran remains limited, although it has undergone a rapid growth recently, with several species of free-living or arthropod-associated laelapids newly described or reported from the country lately (e.g. Joharchi & Halliday, 2011;Moraza & Kazemi, 2012;Kazemi, 2013Kazemi, , 2015Kazemi & Rajaei, 2013;Joharchi & Babaeian, 2014;Kazemi et al, 2014Kazemi et al, , 2016Nemati & Gwiazdowicz, 2016). One of us (SK) discovered a new mite from decaying wood, in Golestan Province of Iran.…”

New Macrocheles species (Acari, Mesostigmata, Macrochelidae) associated with burying beetles (Silphidae, Nicrophorus) in North America

“…Idiosomal chaetotaxy follows the system of Lindquist and Evans (1965) as applied to macrochelids by Hyatt and Emberson (1988). Notation for glandular openings and poroids (proprioreceptors or lyrifissures) follows the system developed by Athias-Henriot (1969, 1971, 1975) and Johnston and Moraza (1991), as reviewed by Kazemi et al (2014). Measurements were made from at least eight female specimens, all measurements are in micrometres (µm), and lengths presented with mean followed by the range in parenthesis.…”

New records of carabid-associated mesostigmatic mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Ukraine with description of adults of Halodarcia carabidophila Evans and Fain, 1995 (Halolaelapidae)

“…Most species were described from soil and litter, but some species were collected from nests of vertebrates and from arthropods (or their nests), including mygalomorph spiders, millipedes, cockroaches, termites, carabid, passalid, cerambycid, scarabaeid beetles and ants (Bregetova, 1977d;Karg, 1993;Beaulieu, 2009;Trach, 2012bKazemi et al, 2014). Only four species of Gaeolaelaps were previously encountered in Europe on carabids -G. nolli (Karg, 1962) on Agonum fuliginosum (Panzer, 1809) in Belgium, G. aculeifer (Canestrini, 1884) on Carabus intricatus Linnaeus, 1961 in Poland, G. carabidophilus Trach, 2012 on Stenolophus mixtus (Herbst, 1784) and G. khaustovi Trach, 2016 on Bembidion sp.…”