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On the fauna of false scorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) of south-eastern Belarus
Artiom M. Ostrovsky
Gomel State Medical University, ul. Lange 5, Gomel, Gomel Region, 246000 Republic of Belarus arti301989@mail.ru
Received: 12.03.2020 Accepted: 24.03.2020 Published online: 23.04.2020
DOI: 10.23859/estr-200312 UDC 595.47 (476.2)
ISSN 2619-094X Print ISSN 2619-0931 Online
Translated by D.M. Martynova
Seven species of the false scorpions have been found in the south-eastern Belarus during targeted studies in 2017-2019. Syl-vatic forms represent a significant part of species diversity of the regional fauna of the false scorpions. Only one species, Chelifer cancroides (Linnaeus, 1761), occurs in synanthropic habitats.
Keywords: false scorpions, pseudoscorpiones, species diversity, biotopic allocation, distribution, morphology, synonymy.
Ostrovsky, A.M., 2020. On the fauna of false scorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) of south-eastern Belarus. Ecosystem Transformation 3 (2), 11-21.
Introduction
The study of the biodiversity is among the emerging issues of modern zoological science.
False scorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpio-nes) is one of the oldest arachnid orders, their representatives are characterized by small body sizes (2-3 mm, on average) and large pedipalps ending with strong claws, which serve to capture the prey. They are found on all continents (except Antarctica) and are especially numerous in the tropics. False scorpions are quite widespread, but are mostly invisible for humans, because they lead a hidden predatory lifestyle in moss, litter, under stones and lagging bark, in anthills, bee hives, burrows and nests of mammals and birds, as well as caves, human dwellings, and livestock premises (Jones, 1970; Lange, 1984; Shear et al., 1989; Shear, 1991; Weygoldt, 1969; Witt and Dill, 1996). Since false scorpions have a limited ability for re-settling, they have historically developed the phenomenon of phoresis, or passive settlement on the body of animal hosts from different systematic groups (Kaisila, 1949). This behavior arose very early during the evolution of this group and is known from Cretaceous amber (Schawaller, 1991).
Currently, over 3500 species of the false scorpions are known, combined in 446 genera that belong to 26 families (Harvey, 2013). Meantime,
the global fauna of the false scorpions has been studied extremely unevenly. For example, in Europe, the species composition of the false scorpions is considered relatively well known for a few countries only, namely, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, and some others; a total of 787 species were recorded (Harvey, 2015). Alongside with that, there are regions where the fauna of the false scorpions has either not been studied at all, or only scarce data on their species composition and distribution have been published. Therefore, the knowledge on many species is very limited. This is especially true in Republic of Belarus, where the order Pseudoscorpiones has almost never been studied. For example, according to L.D. Burko and I.K. Lopatin (2001), there are only two species (a maximum of three: O.I. Borodin, pers. comm.) registered in the local fauna out of several dozen species likely to be found. However, these studies are based on random collections and do not represent a big picture of the species composition and distribution of this arachnid group in the Republic of Belarus. For comparison, 14 species are known for the neighboring Baltic countries, 47 for Poland, and 26 species for Ukraine (Harvey, 2013); in the Russian Federation, 44 to 48 species of the false scorpions have been recorded according to different literature sources (Krajcovicova et al., 2018; Mikhailov, 2016).
The study aims to describe the fauna of the false scorpions and their biotopic allocation in the southeastern part of Republic of Belarus.
Materials and Methods
The material for the study was the author's own collections sampled during the period of 2017-2019 and carried out manually in various biocenoses in the south-eastern part of Republic of Belarus. The surveys were performed by the direct method: in the wild, the plant debris, the areas under the bark, rotten wood, and litter were inspected, as well as the anthills have been sieved; in the anthropogenic environment, the areas under household and construction waste, bird droppings, and residential premises were checked.
In total, 62 specimens of the false scorpions were collected and determined over the study period. The species determining was carried out according to the taxonomic keys developed for Europe (Christophoryova et al., 2011; Legg and Jones, 1988; Stol, 2005; Tooren, 2005) and to the study by S. Dashdamirov and V. Schawaller (1992). Information on the geographical distribution and origin of species is given according to several reports (Harvey, 2013, 2015; Rafalski, 1967; Sammet et al., 2016). The taxonomy and nomenclature are given according to the catalogue of M.S. Harvey (Harvey, 2013). The material is stored in 70% ethanol in the author's collection.
Results and Discussion
The false scorpions collected in various biocenoses of the south-eastern part of Republic of Belarus are represented by seven species belonging to the two families: Cheliferidae (3 species) and Chernetidae (4 species).
Most of the false scorpions are typical inhabitants of the sylvatic environment, except only one species, Chelifercancroides (Fig. 1), which is synanthropic one.
The morphological descriptions of the species found, as well as data on their ecology and distribution are given below.
Class Arachnida - ARACHNIDA CUVIER, 1812 Order Pseudoscorpions - PSEUDOSCORPIONES DE GEER, 1778
Pseudoscorpionidea: Claus, 1872 Pseudoscorpiones: Latreille, 1804 Chelifera: Jarocki, 1825 Chernetidae: Menge, 1855 Didactyla: Nowicki, 1874 Chernetidae: Kulczynski, 1876 Chelonethi: Thorell, 1882 Chelonethida: Chamberlin, 1929 Pseudoscorpionidea: Beier, 1932, 1963
Suborder locheirata Harvey, 1992 Cheliferinea: Beier, 1932
Panctenodactyli: Balzan, 1891 (part.), auct. Monosphyronida (part.): Chamberlin, 1929
Superfamily Cheliferoidea Risso, 1826 Cheliferides: Stecker, 1875 (Cheliferinae part.), Beier, 1932
Family Cheliferidae Risso, 1826
Cheliferidae: Stecker, 1875, Hagen, 1879, part., E. Simon, 1879, part.
Flagellum consists of as few as three bristles. Males have paired cylindrical sacs; both segments of the femur of the first pair of legs are separated by a nearly vertical gap; abdominal sternites in males without margins, with sensitive setae. The poisonous apparatus is developed equally in the movable and non-movable Angers of the pedipalp; additional cloves are never developed. All legs with single-segmented tarsi. The articulation of the femur of both front legs differs significantly from that of the hind legs (heterofemorate articulation) (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992).
Subfamily Cheliferinae Risso 1826
Cheliferinae: Stecker, 1875, part., E. Simon, 1879, part.
Genus Chelifer E.L. Geoffroy, 1762 Chelifer cancroides (Linnaeus, 1761)
Acarus cancroides: Linnaeus, 1761
Chelifer cancroides: + ?C. rhododactylus Menge, 1855
Cheilfer granulatus: C.L. Koch, 1843, L. Koch, 1873,
Kulczynski, 1876
Chelifer ixoides: Lebert, 1875
Chelifer serratus: Stecker, 1874
Chelifer cancroides: Lehnert, 1933, Rafalski, 1953,
Rolnik et Szmidt, 1959
The body is 3-4-mm long, elongated-oval, very flattened, the color is variable, yellowish-brown of different saturation degree, cuticle is finely granulated (Fig. 1). The sides of the thorax in their anterior halves with spiky tubercles, matte; the bristles are clavate. Cephalothorax slightly elongated; both its grooves are clearly expressed, straight; the first groove locates in the middle of the cephalothorax, the second one is much closer to the posterior end of the body than to the first groove. Two clearly seen eyes in front of the thorax, on the sides of latter. Ridge locates along the moving finger of the chelicer and carries 18 cloves. Chelicera with 4 setae (seta sb is absent). Flagellum consists of 3 bristles, the front bristle is notched. Pedipalps are 1.5 times longer than body, slender; trochanter elongated; femur is slightly widened to the apex and joints an unclearly expressed stalk, the femur surface is finely granulated; tibia slightly shorter than femur, markedly widened to apex; the arm is oblong-oval, slightly wider than the tarsus, tapering smoothly to the slightly curved Angers, the length of latter is
Fig. 1. Chelifer cancroides (Linnaeus, 1761), female.
similar to the length of the arm. The tibia and tarsus of the first pair of legs in males are slender, not modified, without secondary reproductive structures. All tergites are longitudinally separated; in the male, they carry powerful lateral carinae. In males, the claws of tarsi carry additional denticles from below, the coxa of the hind legs has a coxal sac on the outer edge with a blunt wide tooth, and the lower edge is strongly concave. In female, medial sieve-like plates are paired. A pair of tactile bristles on the sides of the last abdominal tergite is absent (Christophoryová et al., 2011; Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992; Redikortsev, 1924).
C. cancroides is a synanthropic cosmopolitan species with an unknown center of origin. It is a typical inhabitant of residential buildings (including libraries), chicken coops, and attics (Rafalski, 1967). It settles in bookcases among books and papers, under lagging wallpaper, in linen, in the bird nests and bee hives; less often it can be found in nature, for example, among deciduous litter, in hollows and under the bark, more often, of the pine trees (Atakishiev, 1969; Beier, 1963; Christophoryová, 2010; Christophoryová and Krumpál, 2010; Christophoryová et al., 2011; Drogla and Lippold, 2004; Sfáhlavsky, 2001). In the natural habitat, it occurs from May to August (Kolomiets and Bogdanova, 1980). Regard must be paid to all the findings dated before the description of Mesochelifer ressli, since they refer solely to C. cancroides, and it is now difficult to separate these two species if referring to the literature data from that period (Mahnert, 1981).
Females are fertilized through spermatophores secreted by males. Female always carries the eggs on the underside of the abdomen, and, presumably, they are laid all at once. The eggs are ellipsoidal, slightly yellowish, glued into a dense pack by a trans-
parent substance. Eggs remain on the female abdomen until the juveniles hatch. Within the present study, C. cancroides has been found in the book depository of the Gomel Regional Universal Library named after V.I. Lenin (in the early 2000s) (N 52°25'53.3", E 31°0'0.5") and among the household garbage and bird droppings in an abandoned water tower in vicinity of the urban village of Uvarovichi, Buda-Koshelevsky District (May 23, 2019) (N 52°36'18", E 30°44'54"). In the synanthropic environment, it preys mainly on the booklice (for example, on grain psocid Liposcelis spp. and larger pale booklouse Trogium pulsatorium (Linnaeus, 1758)), but can also feed on cereal mites, bed bugs, and also small larvae of beetles; in xylophilic communities, it predates on the larvae of bark beetles and sawyer beetles. Passive resettlement (phoresis) was observed for genus Coeloides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) (Kolomyets and Bogdanova, 1980) and other hymenopterans, as well as daddy longlegs, dipterans, moths, and butterflies (Poinar et al., 1998); however, these data may be partially related to representatives of the genus Mesochelifer at least in Europe (Zaragoza, 2009).
Genus Mesochelifer Vachon, 1940 Mesochelifer ressli Mahnert, 1981
Brownish to grayish brown body, flattened, ovoid (Fig. 2). The cephalothorax is triangular, covered from above with a continuous chitinous shield, the two eyes locate in front of the cephalothorax, on the sides of the latter. Very similar to the previous species, it differs by the presence of Ave bristles (sb) on the chelicerae and a pair of short tactile bristles on the sides of the last tergite of the abdomen. The body length of males is from 2.68 to 3.47 mm, of females, from 2.67 to 3.69 mm (Christophoryová et al., 2011; Mahnert, 1981).
Distributed widely in Central Europe, including Poland (J^dryczkowski, 1985), it is found also in the southern Urals (Kozminykh, 2017) and in the eastern Kazakhstan (Schawaller, 1989). Inhabits mainly the areas under the bark of conifers (Christophoryová et al., 2011; Mahnert, 1981), where it predates on the larvae of bark beetles and sawyer beetles. The only
Fig. 2. Mesochelifer ressli Mahnert, 1981, male.
Fig. 3. Dactylocheliferlatreillei (Leach, 1817), female.
specimen (male) has been found by the author on October 13, 2019 in timber on felled pine trees inhabited by striped ambrosia beetle Trypodendron lineatum (Olivier, 1795), near the Lisichki dacha village in the vicinity of Gomel city (N 52°22'47.7", E 31°3'45.4"). Only one case of phoresis was reliably recorded for the black arches Lymantria monacha (Linnaeus, 1758) in Austria (Hauser, 1990).
Genus Dactylochelifer Beier, 1932 Dactylochelifer latreillei (Leach, 1817)
Cheliferlatreillei: Leach, 1817 Chelifer degeerii: C.L. Koch, 1835 Chelifer schaefferi: Kulczynski, 1876 Dactylochelifer latreillei: Lehnert, 1933
Tibia and tarsus of the first pair of walking legs of the male are stocky, modified. Tergites without lateral carinae or with very poorly developed lateral carinae (Fig. 3). The female medial sieve-like plates are fused into a single central plate. Coxae of IV pair of legs in male with coxal sacs. The pedipalps are very slender, the length of the tibia of the pedipalps exceeds its width in 2.7-3.1 times, of the femur, in 3.5 times. The subterminal seta of all tarsi is simple and pointed (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992).
Distributed widely in the southern and central Europe and at the Caucasus. It inhabits the litter, hides under the bark and in the bird nests, prefers near-water biotopes on sandy soils (Rafalski, 1967). Known by two specimens (male and female), collected on April 1, 2018 under the bark of deciduous tree, at the
margin of the lowland swamp, in the vicinity of the Uza village, Gomel District, Gomel Region, Republic of Belarus (N 52°23'11.9", E 30°51'38.2").
Family Chernetidae Menge, 1855
All legs with single-segmented tarsi. The articulation of the femur of both front legs differs significantly from that of the hind legs (heterofemorate articulation). Poisonous apparatus only in the movable finger of the pedipalp; pedipalp fingers with at least a few extra denticles (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992).
Subfamily Chernetinae Menge, 1855, Beier, 1932
Tribe Chernetini Menge, 1855, Beier, 1932
Genus Chernes Menge, 1855
Chernes cf. cimicoides (Fabricius, 1793)
Chernes Mengei: L. Koch, 1873
Scorpio cimicoides: Fabricius, 1793
Chernes cimicoides: Rafalski, 1953
The body is 2.0-2.5-mm long, short, wide, flattened (Fig. 4). Cephalothorax, pedipalps and tergites are reddish-brown, pedipalps with a reddish tincture; the cuticle is finely grained, matte; from below, there are pointed setae, from above, the setae are club-shaped, some of which are very wide. The cephalothorax is slightly elongated, granular; both grooves are straight, the first groove is in the middle of the cephalothorax, the second one is much closer to the posterior edge than to the first groove. The ridge on chelicera with 16 denticles; galea is straight, with 3 lateral branches. Flagellum consists of 4 bristles, the front bristle is notched. Pedipalps are body-long, trochanter with a large rounded tubercle; femur with almost straight edges; tibia length and width are similar to that of femur; the outer edge of tibia is evenly arched; the arm is very wide, almost spherical, shorter and almost twice as wide as the tibia; the length of
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Fig. 4. Chernes cf. cimicoides (Fabricius, 1793), male.
the fingers is similar to that of arm; the fingers are strongly curved. Tarsi and tibia of hind legs without long protruding bristles. Additional teeth on the fingers of the pedipalp chela are not reduced, more than one additional tooth on the medial side. Sclerites I-X are widely longitudinally divided. The latter tergite on the sides with two long tactile setae (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992; Redikortsev, 1924).
Trans-Palaearctic species (Kozminykh, 2017). It occurs in the forest zone under the bark of trees and stumps, sometimes in anthills and litter (Rafalski, 1967). In the south-eastern part of Republic of Belarus, all the specimens of Ch. cf. cimicoides have been found in the anthills of Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761: June 4, 2017, in the forest in the suburbs of Gomel city (7 specimens) (N 52°22'36.8", E 31°2'8.7") and October 28, 2018, in the mixed forest near the "Glushets" horticultural community of the Gomel District, Gomel Region (11 specimens) (N 52°14'34", E 30°50'18"). A.S. Sazhnev et al. (2016) have also discovered Ch. cf. cimicoides in the nests of F. rufa ants in addition to insects during their study of myme-cophilous coleoptera in the Saratov Oblast of Russia.
Chernes hahni (C.L. Koch, 1843)
Chelifer hahni: C.L. Koch, 1843
Chernes cimicoides: Menge, 1855, Joseph, 1871
part., Beier, 1932
Chernes Hahni: Nowicki, 1874, Lebert, 1875, Kul-czynski, 1876
Toxochernes panzeri: Rafalski, 1953
The cephalothorax is granular (Fig. 5). Tarsi and tibiae of hind legs without long protruding bristles. The pedipalps are stocky, the length of their femur is 0.5-0.7 mm; the tibia length exceeds the tibia width in 2.0-2.1 times; the femur length exceeds its width in 2.3-2.5 times. Pedipalp chela in both males and females is slender, its length (without a leg) is 2.4-2.6 times greater than its width. Additional teeth on the chela fingers are not reduced, more than one additional tooth on its medial side. The last abdominal tergite with 8 short setae at the posterior margin (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992).
Trans-Palaearctic species (Kozminykh, 2017). It lives mainly under the bark and in the hollows of single-standing deciduous trees (Rafalski, 1967). It has also been found in the bird nests and in the leafy litter (Beier, 1963; Christophoryova, 2010; Christophoryova and Krumpal, 2010; Christophoryova et al., 2011; Drogla and Lippold, 2004; Sfahlavsky, 2001). The only specimen (female) was discovered by author on May 12, 2018 among a pile of construction debris and wood waste populated by the ants Camponotus vagus (Sco-poli, 1763) and Formica fusca Linnaeus, 1758, in the forest area of Gomel city (N 52°24'1.9", E 31°3'17.4").
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Fig. 5. Chernes hahni (C.L. Koch, 1843), female.
Genus Dendrochernes Beier, 1932 Dendrochernes cyrneus (L. Koch, 1873)
Chernes cyrneus: L. Koch, 1873 Dendrochernes cyrneus: Rafalski, 1953
The largest representative of the false scorpions of the fauna of Republic of Belarus (Fig. 6). Body is 4-5-mm long, elongated, flattened. The cephalothorax and pedipalps are dark brown, with a reddish tincture; sclerites are dark brown, almost black; legs are yellow-brown. The cuticle is finely and evenly grained, matte; the pedipalp arm is shiny, with serrated bristles from above and pointed bristles from below. The cephalothorax is granular, elongated, with a slight interception behind the middle; the first groove locates in the middle and forms an angle forward; the second groove is slightly closer to the posterior edge and forms an angle back. In front of the thorax, there are two obscure eye spots along its sides. Ridge of chelicera with 22 denticles; galea is long, straight, with 5 lateral branches. Flagellum consists of 4 bristles, the front one is notched, both posterior bristles are of the same size. Pedipalps are stocky, very massive, trochanter with a small tubercle; the femur is short and uniformly wide; tarsus is somewhat shorter and wider than femur, with a strongly curved inner edge; the arm is very large, longer than tarsus and almost twice as wide; chela fingers with more than 10 additional teeth, strongly curved, almost twice as short as the arms. Tibia of hind legs always without long protruding bristles. Trichobotria of the hind tarsus significantly longer than the double width of the tarsus, located distally; the st trichobotria of the moving finger of the pedipalp is closer to sb than to
Fig. 6. Dendrochernes cyrneus (L. Koch, 1873), female.
t. Sclerites I-X are widely longitudinally divided, each with a rounded dark spot; on the XI sclerite, there is a pair of sensitive hairs (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992; Redikortsev, 1924).
Trans-Palaearctic species (Kozminykh, 2017), ecologically associated with old-growth broad-leaved and mixed forests (Harvey, 2013; Kew, 1906). It lives under the lagging bark of old trees, in xylophagous settlements with developing larvae, mainly longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) and bark beetles (Curculio-nidae: Scolytinae), as well as in abandoned passages (Beier, 1963). This species is rare and local everywhere. The only female was discovered on July 14, 2017 during the hunt for the true weevil Rhyncolus (s. str.) elongatus (Gyllenhal, 1827) under the bark of a standing dried-up pine near the village of Yakimov-ka, Rechitsa District, Gomel Region (N 52°23'27.1", E 30°36'24.7"). In this species, passive resettlement (phoresia) is observed on the beetles from the families Cerambycidae (Beier, 1929; Duchac, 1993; Huber, 2014; Jones, 1978; Karpinski et al., 2017; Kew, 1929; ), Melandryidae (Vachon, 1954) and some others (Lohmander, 1939), as well as on the representatives of braconid wasps, family Braconidae (Kolo-miets, 1980; Ressl, 2007), and ichneumon wasps, family Ichneumonidae (Legg, 2015). Adult false scorpions attach to the underside of the abdomen or to
the legs of the host insect and follow it to the sites of xylophage settlement: Dryocoetes villosus (Fa-bricius, 1792) (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), Bitoma crenata (Fabricius, 1775) (Zopheridae) (Kew, 1929), and Ptilinus pectinicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Ptinidae) (Karpinski et al., 2017).
Subfamily Lamprochernetinae, 1932 Genus Lamprochernes Tomosvary, 1882 Lamprochernes chyzeri (Tomosvary, 1882)
Chernes (Lamprochernes) chyzeri: Tomosvary, 1882 Lamprochernes chyzeri: Rafalski, 1953
The body is up to 2.8-mm long, oblong-oval (Fig. 7). The pedipalps are reddish-brown, the cephalothorax is lighter in color; the tergites of the abdomen and legs are yellow-brown. The cuticle is very thin and evenly granular. The pedipalp arm is almost smooth, shiny; the pointed setae are white. Cephalothorax is almost smooth, elongated; its first groove is slightly ahead of the middle, clearly expressed; it forms in the middle a weak angle forward; the second groove is very obscure, twice as close to the posterior margin as to the first groove. Ridge of chelicera with 16 denticles; galea with 4 lateral branches. Flagellum consists of 3 bristles, the front one is notched. Pedipalps are of the body length, trochanter with two strongly protruding tubercles; the femur behind the leg is sharply widened and noticeably narrowed to the apex; tarsus with arched edges, its length and width are similar of those of femur; the arm length is similar to that of a tibia and somewhat wider than it, gradually tapering to the fingers; the latter are the of the arm length and are slightly bent. Sclerites I-X are longitudinally divided; sclerite XI is incised only in front; each sclerite has two dark spots. Tarsi of two hind pairs of legs with long protruding bristles. The anterior part of the female operculum carries 9-11 setae (Dashdamirov and Schawaller, 1992; Redikortsev, 1924).
European-Asian species (Kozminykh, 2017). It is distributed in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Fig. 7. Lamprochernes chyzeri (Tomosvary, 1882), male.
Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Harvey, 2013). It occurs under the bark of old and decaying trees, in the passages of bark beetles, in the anthills, bird nests, litter, and moss (Beier, 1948, 1963; Christophoryova, 2010; Christophoryova et al., 2011; Drogla and Lippold, 2004; J^dryczkowski, 1987; Kaisila, 1949; Krumpal and Christophoryova, 2007; Krumpal and Cyprich, 1988; Legg and Jones, 1988; Lohmander, 1939; Palmgren, 1973; Petrov, 2004; Rafalski, 1967), as well as in greenhouses and compost heaps at the household plots (Christophoryova, 2009; Drogla and Lippold, 2004; Helversen, 1966; Krumpal et al., 1997; Legg and Jones, 1988; Lohmander, 1939).
In Denmark, L. chyzeri is considered a synan-thropic species (Meinertz, 1964). This species is not numerous in the south-eastern part of Republic of Belarus. Single specimens were found under the bark of old rotten stumps, of the sawn and felled trees in the vicinity of the working village of Bolshevik in the Gomel Region (June 19, 2018) (N 52°34'27.8", E 30°51'54.1"), at power transmission line right-of-way in a mixed forest on the territory of Makeevsky forestry, westwards off Gomel city (July 13, 2019) (N 52°24'24.2", E 30°53'40.3"), in a floodplain meadow between the villages of Verkhnie Zhary and Nizh-nie Zhary of the Bragin District, Gomel Region (August 15, 2019) (N 51°18'44.2", E 30°34'34.3"). Several specimens were also collected is a pile of construction debris and wood waste, inhabited by the ants C. vagus and F. fusca, in the forest area of Gomel city on May 12, 2018 (N 52°24'1.9", E 31°3'17.4"). In Europe, cases of phoresis of L. chyzeri were noted for the double dart Graphiphora augur (Fabricius, 1775) (Vachon, 1954) and the housefly Musca domestica (Christophoryova et al., 2011; Meinertz, 1964).
Conclusions
Seven species of the false scorpions have been registered in the south-eastern part of Republic of Belarus; Chelifer cancroides, Chernes cf. cimicoides, and Lamprochernes chyzeri are the most common species in our collections. The greatest biodiversity of this group of arachnids is noted in the sylvatic environment and represented by dendrophilic (inhabiting the areas under the bark) and myrmecophilous species. However, due to the relatively small amount of the material analyzed, as well as the lack of literary information about the fauna of the false scorpions in this region, the indicated number of species is far from final, and therefore this note should be considered as a preliminary review only. In the future, one should expect an extension of the species list of the false scorpions of Republic of Belarus, since the study is planned to be continued.
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