Vol. 49 No. 6, 2010

Oribatid Mites from Marine Littoral and Freshwater Habitats in India with Remarks on World Species of Thalassozetes (Acari: Oribatida)

Badamdorj Bayartogtokh^1,* and Tapas Chatterjee²

¹Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, National Univ. of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 210646, Mongolia
²Department of Biology, Indian School of Learning, ISM Annexe, P.O. – ISM, Dhanbad 826004, Jharkhand, India

Badamdorj Bayartogtokh and Tapas Chatterjee (2010) This work deals with 4  species of oribatid mites found in marine coastal and semi-aquatic, freshwater habitats during a flood in India.  Species of the small oribatid mite genus, Thalassozetes (Ameronothroidea: Selenoribatidae), mostly inhabit and are typical of marine littoral zones in the tropics and subtropics.  In the present paper, we propose a newly revised diagnosis for this genus, and describe a new species, Thalassozetes tenuisetosus sp. nov., collected from marine coastal areas of western India (Goa, Arabian Sea).  The description is based on adult and juvenile specimens.  A diagnostic key to adults of known species of Thalassozetes in the world is provided along with a summary of their geographical distributions.  In addition, supplementary descriptions of 3 known species, Peloribates kaszabi Mahunka, 1988, Scheloribates latipes (C. L. Koch, 1844), and Pergalumna cf. foveolata Hammer, 1973 found among weeds and sediments of the Karamana River of Trivananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, India, during a flood are given with respective illustrations.

Key words: Selenoribatidae, Poronota, Freshwater, Littoral habitat.

*Correspondence: E-mail:bayartogtokh@num.edu.mn