Review of the genus Gamasellodes Athias-Henriot (Mesostigmata: Ascidae) in Russia, with a description of a new species

Abstract

A new predatory mite species of the genus Gamasellodes Athias-Henriot, 1961 (Mesostigmata: Ascidae), G. brevisetus sp. n., is described and illustrated based on morphological characters of adults collected from meadow soils of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Western Siberia. The spermatodactyl of the male chelicera is unique among the representatives of this genus, being a thin-walled goffered tube possessing a broad opening. Female spermathecal apparatus is of a laelapid-type, with two unpaired successive chambers. In addition, an identification key to all known Russian species of the genus is presented, including G. rectiventris Lindquist, 1971, which was recorded from Russia for the first time.