Second world record of Olopachys hallidayi Özbek, 2014 (Mesostigmata: Pachylaelapidae) from Iran

Abstract

The species Olopachys ( Olopachys ) hallidayi was collected from orchards from Maragheh and adjacent villages, East Azerbaijan Province, using Berlese-Tullgren funnel during the autumn 2016. The specimens were cleared in Nesbitt's fluid, then mounted on microscope slides using Hoyer's medium, and finally dried in an oven at 45–50 °C for 3–4 weeks. The Iranian specimens of Olopachys hallidayi are very similar to the Turkish ones according to the morphometric characteristics and the original description prepared by Ozbek (2014), but they have wide ranges for some characteristics. The Iranian specimens were larger than the Turkish ones in length and width of dorsal shield, although the ratio was smaller in the Iranian specimens [740−875 long, 480−580 wide, the ratio: 1.47−1.54 in the Iranian specimens; 700−780 long, 430−470 wide, the ratio: 1.54−1.69 in the Turkish specimens (Ozbek 2014)].