NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORDS OF GREAT PLAINS PSEUDOSCORPIONS (ARACHNIDA: PSEUDOSCORPIONES)

Pseudoscorpions are tiny, oval, brown, flattened arachnids that possess large "pinchers" in front of the body for capturing smaller prey. They generally live in forested habitats in soil litter or beneath loose bark. It has been presumed that pseudoscorpions are scarce in the Great Plains, except for along rivers, due to harsh climatic conditions. However, new records of pseudoscorpions from the Great Plains were derived from identification of specimens obtained from university and college collections, and from specimens collected by the first author. Records provided new revelations about distributions of not only the more commonly known pseudoscorpion species but also species previously not believed to be adaptable to grassland habitats. For example, Dactylochelifer silvestris Hoff, a western species, appears to be common throughout the Great Plains, with new state records from Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. In addition, Parachernes nubilis (Hoff) previously was not known from Kansas, Nebraska, or Texas, and Parachernes virginicus Hoff, Apocheiridium stannardi Hoff, Hysterochelifer proprius Hoff, and Chthonius tetrachelatus (Preyssler) are newly recorded for Nebraska. Records of Microbisium parvulum from Rapp (1978) in Nebraska were bolstered by five more in the state.