Abstract
The present paper is devoted to the study of some morphological changes in the laelapid genus Gaeolaelaps, based on observations on G. queenslandicus (Womersley, 1956), G. angustus (Karg, 1965) and G. tripodiger (Berlese, 1916) [new comb]. According to our observations on the type material of G. angustus, previous redescription of G. queenslandicus (sensu Costa 1966, based on holotype), specimens of this species from Australia and numerous specimens from Iran identified as either G. angustus or G. queenslandicus, notable variations were observed in some morphological characters, which had previously been considered as distinguishing features between the two species. Our analysis indicates that these morphological differences represent intraspecific variation, and therefore the two species names are synonyms. Furthermore, observation of type material of G. tripodiger shows that the two first mentioned species are junior synonyms of G. tripodiger. The original descriptions of G. trifurcatus (Wang and Li, 1965) [new comb.] and G. trifurcatoides (Yan and Ma, 1999) ([new comb.] show no authentic morphological difference from G. tripodiger and those are also junior synonyms of the later. The oldest available name for this species is Gaeolaelaps tripodiger. However, that name is almost unknown, and to use it as a valid name would cause taxonomic confusion. Therefore, we continue to use the widely known name Gaeolaelaps queenslandicus for this species, in the interests of stability.
Highlights
The mite family Laelapidae includes hundreds of species that are free-living predators in soil, as well as many others that have varying degrees of association with other animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates (Faraji and Halliday 2009)
Our taxonomical studies and analysis on various specimens in Iran which have been previously considered as G. angustus and G. queenslandicus, the type materials of G. angustus (Karg collection, Berlin), the information presented in Costa, 1966 concerning holotype of G. queenslandicus resulted in the absence of significant differences in the important morphological traits between these species and, using this information, those (G. angustus sensu Karg, 1965 and G. queenslandicus sensu Costa, 1966) cannot be considered as distinct and valid species
Our observations on different morphological characters of type species of G. tripodiger showed no difference with G. angustus
Summary
The mite family Laelapidae includes hundreds of species that are free-living predators in soil, as well as many others that have varying degrees of association with other animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates (Faraji and Halliday 2009). The Genus Gaeolaelaps Evans and Till, 1966 is currently one of the largest genus of the family Laelapidae Berlese (Beaulieu 2009, Kazemi et al 2014, Vatankhah et al 2016). The known representatives of this genus are active predator of small invertebrates such as other mites, insect eggs and nematodes (Lindquist et al 2009). Beaulieu (2009) and Kazemi et al (2014) have studied the characteristics of the genus, which contains more than 100 species. There are still some species that may be considered especially in Hypoaspis s. lat. genus or other genera and need to study and transfer to their proper genus
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