animal biosystematic
Hamid Darvishnia
Abstract
Pseudoscorpiones are small arthropods that inhabit enclosed environments such as caves, under tree barks, in leaf litter, in desert zones, in nests of mammals and birds. Approximately 3450 species belonging to this group have been identified so far, of which 71 are distributed in Iran. Due to a dearth ...
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Pseudoscorpiones are small arthropods that inhabit enclosed environments such as caves, under tree barks, in leaf litter, in desert zones, in nests of mammals and birds. Approximately 3450 species belonging to this group have been identified so far, of which 71 are distributed in Iran. Due to a dearth of information regarding this group, the morphological study of cave pseudoscorpions located west of Iran, has been investigated in current research. A total 213 pseudoscorpion specimens were collected by hand, brush, or fine tweezers from under rock, among animal dropping and bat guano, on the ground surface, and on the walls of 24 caves in Ilam, Lorestan and Kermanshah provinces, and then preserved in 75% ethanol. While taking photos, the geographic location, altitude and some environmental factors of the caves were measured. To study the morphological characteristics, slides were made from the specimens, and measurements were done using the ImageJ software. A total of 18 species belonging to 14 genera from eight families were identified. The Chernetidae family exhibited the greatest diversity, comprising of 5 species belonging to 4 genera. These species were predominantly found in bat guano; and in the endogenous and parahypopogen regions of the cave. The Menthidae, Cheiridiidae and Chthoniidae families had the least diversity, each with one genus and one species. In the caves of the study area, the Megachernes pavlovskyi species from the Chernetidae family had the highest distribution. Because pseudoscorpions require a habitat with suitable camouflage, stable temperature, optimal humidity, and sufficient food resources, they prefer the cave environment. They are not directly influenced by rainfall or climate changes, and they are influenced by the ambient temperature. This could possibly account for the variety and abundance of pseudoscorpions present in the cave.
