Oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) from riverine environments of some islands in Oceania

Abstract

A checklist of identified oribatid mite taxa from riverine freshwater environments from six islands in Polynesia (New Caledonia, Tahiti, Moorea, Rurutu, Tubuai, Raiatea) is presented; 18 species, 16 genera and eight families were recorded. Trhypochthoniellus longisetus (Berlese, 1904) and Trimalaconothrus albulus Hammer, 1972 prevailed on distribution. Fortuynia smiti sp. n. (Fortuyniidae) is described from New Caledonia. The new speciesis morphologically most similar to Fortuynia marina Hammen, 1960 from New Guinea, but it differs from the latter by the longer notogastral setae dm, lm, c2, p1, epimeral setae 3b and adanal setae ad1 and the presence of prodorsal lateral ridges.

Systematics, genetics, and biogeography of intertidal mites (Acari, Oribatida) from the Andaman Sea and Strait of Malacca

“…Biogeographic and morphological remarks This species was first discovered in New Caledonia (Ermilov et al, 2013), and later it was also found on the coasts of Singapore (Pfingstl, 2015b is also well in accordance with the size range of the New Caledonian individuals (564-614 μm) and the specimens from Singapore (552-589 μm).…”

“…This species was first discovered in New Caledonia (Ermilov et al., ), and later it was also found on the coasts of Singapore (Pfingstl, ). The present specimens do not show any morphological difference to the above‐mentioned individuals.…”

“…Indeed, intertidal oribatid mites are one of these minor groups and the reports from this geographic area remain poorly known, only records of three species from the nearby region of Singapore were recently published, namely Alismobates pseudoreticulatus Pfingstl, 2015, Fortuynia smiti Ermilov, Tolstikov, Mary, & Schatz, and Selenoribates asmodeus Pfingstl, 2015 (Pfingstl, ,b; Pfingstl & Schuster, ). These tiny animals belong to the superfamily of Ameronothroidea, containing the Ameronothridae, Podacaridae, Fortuyniidae, and Selenoribatidae.…”

Indications of parthenogenesis and morphological differentiation in Hawaiian intertidal Fortuynia (Acari, Oribatida) populations

“…The general appearance and the lack of this structure in larvae suggest that it represents rather a moulting artefact than some functional organ. The Fortuyniidae belong to the Circumdehiscentiae, which means their ecdysial cleavage line encircles the hysterosoma (Grandjean, 1947) and nymphs emerge backwards from the ventral exuvia and then wipe off the dorsal part, also called "scalp". In F. hawaiiensis n.…”

“…Apart from a single species, namely Fortuynia smiti Ermilov, Tolstikov, Mary & Schatz, 2013 which was also found in freshwater habitats of oceanic islands (Ermilov et al, 2013), all other species exclusively inhabit the intertidal zone of marine coasts (Pfingstl, 2015a) and hence are classified as typical thalassobiontic organisms. They show a transoceanic distribution but are confined to subtropical and tropical climate zones (e.g., Pfingstl and Schuster, 2014).…”