Olopachys (Olopachys) caucasicus Koroleva 1976
Creators: name: Özbek, Hasan Hüseyin
name: Halliday, Bruce
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Pachylaelapidae
Olopachys
Olopachys caucasicus

description: Olopachys (Olopachys) caucasicus Koroleva, 1976
(Figs 1–8)
Olopachys caucasicus Koroleva, 1976: 489.
Olopachys caucasicus.— Koroleva, 1977b: 482.
Olopachys (Olopachys) caucasicus.— Mašán, 2007a: 43; Mašán, 2007b: 36; Mašán & Halliday, 2014: 28.
Diagnosis (Female)
Dorsal shield with two pairs of teat-like pores extremely close to each other (gdZ1, gdS4); clunal setae J5 microsetae; all other dorsal setae exceeding base of following setae and most of them more than 100 long; distance between distal ends of tubes of spermathecal system less than one tube length; metapodal sclerites fused at anterolateral margin of geniti-ventrianal shield; lateral and opisthogastric soft integument with 13 pairs of setae.
Material examined. One female, Türkiye, Gümüşhane Province, Kürtün town (40° 43’ 28’’ N, 39° 02’ 40’’ E), altitude 730 m a.s.l., in moss, 24 November 2013.
Description. Female.
Dorsum (Fig. 1). Dorsal shield oval, 710 long, 480 wide at level of widest point, length/width 1.47, ornamented with reticulate pattern. Two pairs of hypertrophied and teat-like gland pores gdZ1 and gdS4 present, very close together. Dorsal shield with 30 pairs of setae, clunal setae J5 very short microsetae. Other dorsal setae very long, longer than 100 (100–130), only setae j1 and z1 less than 100.
Venter (Figs 2, 7). Sternal shield 230 long, 120 wide at level of coxae II, reticulate on surface, with four pairs of setae and three pairs of pore-like structures. Length of setae st1–st5 80–120. Geniti-ventrianal shield 355 long 350 wide, slightly longer than wide, length/width 1.01, rhomboid, ornamented with reticulate pattern and with three pairs of pre-anal setae. Metapodal sclerites fused at anterolateral margin of geniti-ventrianal shield. Peritremes normally developed, relatively long, with anterior end extending to dorsal surface between setae z1 and z2. Lateral and opisthogastric soft integument with 13 pairs of setae (six pairs of marginal and seven pairs of opisthogastric setae).
Spermathecal apparatus. Spermathecal system connected to coxae IV, tubes straight, tubular, normal length (about 50 long) and thickness. Distance between distal ends of tubes of spermathecal system is less than the length of the tubes (Figs 3, 8).
Gnathosomal structures. Corniculi elongated and lanceolate (Fig. 4). Palptarsi with 3-tined apotele. Base of epistome denticulate on anterolateral margins, median process neck-like, concave laterally, with apical serration (Fig. 5). Movable digit of chelicera about 83 long.
Legs. Chaetotaxy normal for the genus (Mašán, 2007a). Tarsus II with two spur-like distal setae (Fig. 6).
Remarks
Korolova (1976, 1977b) described O. caucasicus from specimens collected in Armenia and Georgia. It has been reported several times from Iran (Ahangaran et al., 2010, 2012; Dustdar Sharf et al., 2016; Saberi et al., 2016; Mojahed et al., 2017, 2019; Nemati et al., 2018; Hajizadeh & Hosseini, 2020). Ahangaran et al. (2012) illustrated this species but did not provide a detailed diagnosis. Saberi et al. (2016) reported four females and one male in the ecological garden of Nowshahr, Iran, but did not mention any diagnostic features.
Mojahed et al. (2017, 2019) and Moghimi et al. (2019) reported this species from Iran, with some details and photos of tubes of the spermathecal system. In Turkish, Armenian and Georgian specimens the tubes of the spermathecal system are relatively long, and the distance between the distal ends of the spermathecal tubes is less than one tube length. In the specimens reported from Iran, the tubes of the spermathecae access system are extremely short. Mojahed et al. (2017, 2019) and Moghimi et al. (2019) described the length of dorsal shield setae J5 as 16–18 and J4 as 53–64 in Iranian specimens. In Turkish, Armenian and Georgian specimens setae J4 are much longer than 100, and J5 are very short microsetae (less than 5). We therefore believe the identity of O. caucasicus from Iran should be re-considered. Moreover, this species is a new record for the fauna of Türkiye.
description: Published as part of Özbek, Hasan Hüseyin & Halliday, Bruce, 2024, Two new species of mites in the family Pachylaelapidae from Türkiye (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 319-337 in Zootaxa 5514 (4) on pages 319-322, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5514.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/13914602