Description of Neoliodes dominicus n. sp. (Acari, Oribatida) from dominican amber, aided by synchrotron x-ray microtomography

• Published in: Journal of Paleontology
• Main Authors: Heethoff, Michael, Helfen, Lukas, Norton, Roy A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2009
• Subjects: Paleontology; Mite; Siberia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1666/08-101r1.1; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336000058224

The nearly ubiquitous mite suborder Oribatida, which comprises mostly mycophages and saprophages in organic soil horizons, has a long geological history. Early derivative taxa are known from middle and late Devonian deposits (Norton et al., 1988; Subías and Arillo, 2002) and members of the highly derived cohort Brachypylina have existed since the Jurassic (Krivolutsky and Krasilov, 1977, Selden et al., 2008). The group is commonly represented as inclusion-fossils in amber, with about 100 species known worldwide. Except for four Cretaceous fossils from Siberia (Bulanova-Zachvatkina, 1974; Krivolutsky and Ryabinin, 1976) and Spain (Arillo and Subías, 2000, 2002), the named amber species are of Tertiary age. The majority of these have been discovered in the Priabonian (middle Eocene) Baltic amber deposits of northern Europe (Labandeira et al., 1997; Norton, 2006).