Damaeidae

• Main Authors: Miko, L., Mourek, J.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2008
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Damaeidae; Subarctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6233888; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/54B226141CB2F9350CBB8C69B53DB136

[[Family Damaeidae Berlese, 1896]] Oribatid mites of the family Damaeidae Berlese, 1896 occur mostly in the northern hemisphere, with the majority of known species living in forest soils of temperate, boreal and subarctic zones of palearctic and nearctic regions (Norton 1979a, 1979b). The present paper represents the first part of a series which aims to revise the European Damaeidae based on the study of extensive material from Northern, Western and Central Europe, the types or topotypes of European authors when available, and recent discoveries on the family. This first part deals with the generic concept of Damaeus sensu lato, together with the detailed morphology of Kunstidamaeus Miko, 2006 including a redescription of its type species. Species of Central and Northern Europe belonging to other genera within Damaeus C. L. Koch, 1836 sensu lato (i.e. including Damaeus s. stricto, Adamaeus Norton, 1977b, Epidamaeus Bulanova-Zachvatkina, 1957, Paradamaeus Bulanova-Zachvatkina, 1957, Spatiodamaeus Bulanova-Zachvatkina, 1957 and Kunstidamaeus Miko, 2006) were revised (see Miko, 2006) and will be redescribed in detail in following articles of this series. The family Damaeidae is reasonably diverse, being represented by more than 250 described species (Subias 2004). Grandjean (1954a) included the family in Euphérédermes, one of the five sections recognized within Brachypylina, which is characterised namely by the nymphs (less often also by the adults) carrying gastronotic exuviae of previous stages (“scalps”) and by the reduction of the notogastral setae f1, da, dm, dp (the sete da, dm, dp are present only in the larvae). Monophyly of the Euphérédermes was questioned recently (Maraun et al. 2004; Weigmann 2006) and the phylogenetic relations of Damaeidae to other families are not clear. Damaeid mites are mostly long-legged, middle sized to large forms (rarely smaller than 500 µm, some species exceeding 1 500 µm) with roughly triangular prodorsum, which is separated from usually circular or ovoid notogaster by a deep ...