Lasiochernes turcicus Beier, 1949
Lasiochernes turcicus is a pseudoscorpion belonging to Chernetidae. It is known from western parts of Asia Minor, and from northern Israel (Galilee, Judea and the Golan heights). The distribution is possibly continuous (but poorly sampled), between the two regions.
The species is mainly found in caves, where it is associated with bat roosting sites, and might be phoretic on bats ,as many chernetids are phoretic. It is also found in other subterranean habitats, such as field mouse (Apodemus sp.) burrows.
Like all chernetids, Lasiochernes turcicus is eyeless, but it does not exhibit any other troglomorphic traits. Very little is known about its ecology.
photo by: J. A. Ballesteros
Known distribution of Lasiochernes turcicus
Accession in the World Arachnid Catalog: https://wac.nmbe.ch/order/pseudoscorpiones/speciesdata/4276
photo by: Shlomi Aharon
Articles about Lasiochernes turcicus:
Kunt, B. K., Yağmur, A. E., Özkütük, S., & Anlaş, S. (2010). Checklist of the cave dwelling invertebrates (Animalia) of Turkey.
Warburg, S., Aharon, S., Armiach Steinpress, I., Sharma, P. P., Harms, D., & Gavish-Regev, E. (2023). Pseudoscorpions of Israel: Annotated Checklist and Key, with New Records of Two Families (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones). Taxonomy, 3(4), 466-495.
Taxonomic Classification
Class: Arachnida
Order: Pseudoscorpiones
Family: Chernetidae
Genus: Lasiochernes
Species: Lasiochernes turcicus
Authors: Beier, 1949
Ecological Classification
Category: Troglophile
Cave zone: All zones, outside
Microhabitat: On floor, under stones