New data to the knowledge of Gaeolaelaps mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae)

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.