Karschia persica Kraepelin, 1899

Khazanehdari, Mahsa, Mirshamsi, Omid, Received, Mansour Aliabadian, Online, Published & Version, Final, 2016, Contribution to the solpugid (Arachnida: Solifugae) fauna of Iran, Turkish Journal of Zoology 40 (4), pp. 608-614 : 611-613

Karschia persica Kraepelin, 1899

( Figures 5A–5E )

Material: 1♀ (SMF-RII -9903456), Fars Province, Shiraz (Syntype) ; 1♀ (ZMFUM-SOL-1053), Khorasan-e Razavi Prov, Fariman (35°22′6.21″N, 59°59′21.17″E), 2222 m a.s.l., 05.viii.2013, M. Khazanedari .

Distribution: This species is already known from Fars Province in the SW of Iran ( Roewer, 1933), but it is a new record for NE Iran.

Diagnosis. This species can be easily distinguished from K. mastigofera by the dentition of chelicerae; fixed finger with six teeth, three front teeth approximately equal in size, the second only slightly smaller than the first, next three teeth from distal to proximal gradually become larger in size. Cheek part with four small ectal teeth and two mesial ones. Moveable finger with 9 or 10 teeth, of which the 4th and 7th are larger than the others (see Kraepelin, 1901: 147, fig. 114).

Family Rhagodidae Pocock, 1897

Genus Rhagodes Pocock 1897

Rhagodes aureus (Pocock, 1889)

( Figure 2F )

Material: 1♂ (ZMFUM-SOL-1002), Khorasan-e Jonubi Prov., Qaen (33°43’36.00″N, 59°11’4.00″E), 1146 m a.s.l., 16.ix.2010, F. Abedi .

KHAZANEHDARI et al. / Turk J Zool

Distribution: This species has been previously recorded from SE Turkmenistan to SW Afghanistan, Somalia, and E Iran (Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces) ( Birula, 1938; Lawrence, 1956; Harvey, 2003).

Diagnosis: This species can be easily distinguished by the presence of a purple median band, dorsally extending from posterior of propeltidium to the 7th abdominal segment; chelicerae and pedipalps pale yellow, tip of the pedipalps and first legs reddish-brown ( Birula, 1905).

Rhagodes melanochaetus Heymons, 1902

( Figure 2E )

Material: Syntype: 1♀ (SMf-RII-9903049), Turkmenistan, Transcaspian , Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), C. Fr. Roewer ; 1♀ (ZMFUM-SOL-1015), Razavi Khorasan Prov., Mashhad (36°17′60.00″N, 59°36′0.00″E), 982 m a.s.l., 30.v.2008, O. Mirshamsi ; 1♀ (ZMFUM-SOL-1030), Razavi Khorasan Prov., Torbat-e Jam, Jafarabad (35°27′49″N, 60°21′0″E), 1095 m a.s.l., 14.vi.2013, M. Khazanedari ; 1♀ (ZMFUM-SOL-1040), Kerman Prov., Jiroft (28°40′41.00″N, 57°44′26.00″E), 685 m a.s.l., 14.vi.2013, M. Nazari .

Distribution: This species has been recorded from the Caspian coast of Turkmenistan to NE Iran and central Afghanistan ( Birula, 1938; Lawrence, 1956).

Comments: Based on Roewer (1933: 283) and examining the syntype specimen from Turkmenistan, we found that it is a female not a male (originally labeled as male).

Diagnosis: Birula (1938) distinguished this species from Rhagodes grimmi and R. g. septentrionalis based on the body coloration, hairs, and bristles of the propeltidium and the formula of dorsal spines on legs 2–4.

According to the data presented in this study, four families, four genera, and seven species are recorded from NE and NW of Iran. Among the recorded species, K. mastigofera is recorded for the first time from the country. Considering the data presented here and the previously recorded species the number of Iranian camel spiders increases to 75. However, because of the lack of inclusive systematic studies devoted to solpugids in most regions of Iran in recent decades, it is still difficult to assess the exact species diversity of camel spiders of the country.

KHAZANEHDARI et al. / Turk J Zool

Acknowledgments

The authors give special thanks to Jamshid Darvish (Mashhad, Iran), and Alexander Gromov ( Germany) for their invaluable help. We are grateful to Majid Moradmand and Peter Jäger (Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt) for the loan of specimens. We are also thankful to H Maddahi, M Torshizi, F Abedi, and A Mahmoudi for their help during field work. Financial support was provided by the Office of Research Affairs, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (project no: 25107) and the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF-90001780), which are gratefully acknowledged.

Figures

Figure 2. Dorsal habitus of the studied species. A) Galeodes bacillatus, female; B) G. bacillatus, male; C) G. caspius, female; D) G. caspius, male; E) Rhagodes melanochaetus, female; F) Rhagodes aureus, male.

Figure 5. Karschia persica: A) habitus, dorsal view; B) dorsal view of metatarsus II; C) chelicerae, external view; D) genital operculum; E) ventral view of opisthosoma.