New pseudoscorpions of the genus Austrochernes (Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) associated with threatened Australian marsupials

Pseudoscorpions are mostly free-living but some have obligate associations with other organisms, including in the nests of insects, birds and mammals. Species of the Australasian pseudoscorpion genus Austrochernes Beier, 1932 are typically associated with other animals and have been found in the nests of birds, in guano in caves or attached to insects for phoretic dispersal. Two new species of Austrochernes are described from Australia, based on specimens found in the nests and pelage of marsupials: Austrochernes intutus Harvey, sp. nov. from specimens found in the nests and pelage of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867, in Victoria, and Austrochernes pauculus Harvey, sp. nov. from a specimen found in the nest of the threatened wambenger, Phascogale tapoatafa wambenger Aplin, Rhind, Ten Have & Chesser, 2015, in southern Western Australia. These represent the first records of Austrochernes from mammalian hosts. ZooBank registration: https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/4EE323D9-D617-40C6-B9EC-1C957AC79A9C.