Laelaps semitectus ( L. Koch, 1879 )

Vinarski, Maxim V. & Korallo-Vinarskaya, Natalia P., 2016, An annotated catalogue of the gamasid mites associated with small mammals in Asiatic Russia. The family Laelapidae s. str. (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina), Zootaxa 4111 (3), pp. 223-245 : 231-232

14. Laelaps semitectus ( L. Koch, 1879)

Sejus semitectus L. Koch, 1879: 123 , Taf. V, fig. 5.

Ichoronyssus semitectus . — Ewing, 1923: 13.

Laelaps hilaris . — Kramer & Neuman, 1883: 529, non C.L. Koch, 1836.

Laelaps pachypus . — Kramer & Neuman, 1883: 529, non Hermann, 1804 nec C.L. Koch, 1838.

Laelaps semitectus . — Strandtmann & Wharton, 1958: 69; Grokhovskaya, 1960: 1093; Tipton, 1960: 307; Nikulina, 1987: 230, 232.

Liponyssus semitectus . — Trågärdh, 1904: 31, textfigs 48–51.

Type locality. Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Gåskup. Type hosts. Myodes obensis = Lemmus sibiricus .

Principal host. The Arctic lemming, Dicrostonyx torquatus (according to Pallas, 1778) ( Belyaev, 1969; Bogdanov, 1975; Nikulina, 2004).

Distribution. Northern Eurasia, from Arkhangel’sk Region of Russia eastwards to northeastern Asia, including Wrangel Island ( Belyaev, 1969; Zemskaya, 1973; Nikulina, 2004); Greenland ( Trågärdh, 1904). A record of this species from Sweden was questioned by Edler & Mehl (1972). Indeed, D. torquatus is not known to occur in Scandinavian countries ( Panteleev, 1998), and the finding of L. semitectus there seems unlikely. However, both Lemmus and Dicrostonyx occupied much wider geographic ranges in the recent geological history ( Fedorov & Goropashnaya, 1999).