First record of Beierochelifer Mahnert , 1977 ( Pseudoscorpiones : Cheliferidae ) from Slovakia

Beierochelifer peloponnesiacus peloponnesiacus (Beier, 1929) is recorded for the first time from Slovakia. These records are based on two males found in tree microhabitats at two localities, both with forest-steppe character with xerothermic vegetation. A full description of the specimens of this rare subspecies is provided and the main diagnostic characters are discussed.

microscope with ICC50 Camera Module (LAS EZ application, 1.8.0).Measurements were taken from photographs using the AxioVision 40LE application (v. 4.5).Figure of tarsus of leg I was drawn using a Leica drawing tube.The specimens were compared to the syntypes of B. peloponnesiacus from Koumanis, Peloponnese (Greece) in the Natural History Museum in Vienna.Dr. V. Mahnert (Geneva, Switzerland) confirmed the identification.Nomenclature follows Harvey (2013).The material is deposited in the zoological collections of Slovak National Museum (Bratislava) (voucher numbers: SZ 10880, SZ 10881).
A short acute tactile seta (as long as the depth of tarsus or indistinctly longer) present on tarsus IV situated approximately 2/3 from the joint with the tibia (Figure 6).
Measurements of both males are given in Table 1.The subspecies B. p. peloponnesiacus is thought to live under tree bark (Beier 1963).However, Beier (1929Beier ( , 1932aBeier ( , 1932b) ) and Gardini (1985) did not mention the habitat type.Petrov (2004) collected specimens under tree bark, near a stone quarry and in Quercus litter in Bulgaria.Both newly found specimens in Slovakia were collected in tree microhabitats, though one specimen was found in mould of tree hollow.
Measurements from published data (Beier 1929(Beier , 1932b(Beier , 1963;;Petrov 2004) and from the Slovak specimens (Table 1) shows that the length of palpal femur of B. p. peloponnesiacus is never longer than 0.90 mm (Table 1) in contrast to B. p. jonicus.Nevertheless, the differences between the subspecies are really inconsistent and rarely discriminates sexes.Both subspecies are present in the same area and the differences can be caused by missing data (Gardini 1985;Petrov 2004).Petrov (2004) noticed short, but obvious tactile seta present on tarsus IV, which is not mentioned in original description of the genus (Mahnert 1977) but which is recorded in original description of Chelifer peloponnesiacus Beier (1929).A short acute tactile seta is   present on tarsus IV in both specimens found in Slovakia (Figure 6).New find of the rare B. p. peloponnesiacus extends our knowledge about its distribution.These Slovak records represent the northernmost occurrences of the genus (Figure 1).At the same time, they represent the first records of the genus in Slovakia.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Tarsus of leg IV of Beierochelifer p. peloponnesiacus male.Arrow points to tactile seta situated distal in one third of tarsus.Scale: 0.1 mm.

Table 1 .
Morphometric data for examined males of Beierochelifer p. peloponnesiacus (measurements in mm).