Ololaelaps translineatus ( Barilo, 1991 )

Ololaelaps translineatus ( Barilo, 1991)

Pseudoparasitus (Ololaelaps) translineatus Barilo, 1991: 15 .

Ololaelaps translineatus .— Beaulieu et al., 2019: 5; Moraes et al., 2022: 356.

Specimens examined

One female, Pakistan, Rajhana Toba Tek Singh , 30° 50' N, 72° 33' E, 1 August 2014, soil core, undisturbed soil GoogleMaps .

Notes

Ololaelaps translineatus was described from Uzbekistan. It may be recognised by the distinctive transverse line across the sternal shield connecting the second pair of lyrifissures ( Fig. 11 View Figures 11–12 ), by the narrow fusion of the genito-ventrianal shield with the exopodal plates behind coxa IV, and by the form of the insemination ducts. Our specimen agrees well with the description and illustrations in Barilo (1991) and the diagnostic notes in Beaulieu et al. (2019) – posterior end of peritrematal shield free; posterior end of exopodal shield joined to genito-ventrianal shield by a narrow bridge; dorsal shield smooth; epipleura lineate/reticulate; metasternal setae inserted in a narrow strip of soft cuticle between the sternal shield and coxa III ( Fig. 11 View Figures 11–12 ); and spermathecal tubes as illustrated by Barilo (1991), beginning on the anterior margin of coxa IV on both sides, with a heavily sclerotised basal section leading to a membranous inner tubulus ( Fig. 12 View Figures 11–12 ). These character states distinguish O. translineatus from the species of Ololaelaps found in China ( Bai et al. 1996; Liu and Zhang 2011; Ma 2015), Iran ( Mahjoori et al. 2014), Egypt ( Hassan 1989), and the former USSR ( Bregetova and Koroleva 1964). Hussein et al. (2003) showed that O. nasri Hassan, 1989 feeds on nematodes and fly larvae, and may be a beneficial component of the soil fauna. The same may be true for other species of Ololaelaps .