Eremaeozetes darwini
| Eremaeozetes darwini | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Eremaeozetes darwini | ||||||||||
| Sweetheart , 2001 |
Eremaeozetes darwini is a species of mite from the horn mite group . Like Eremaeozetes irenae , it was discovered by Heinrich Schatz on the Galápagos Islands and described in 2001. Eremaeozetes darwini occurs in predominantly moist habitats in the higher zones of the islands.
The genus Eremaeozetes was established by Antonio Berlese in 1913 and currently includes 31 known species. These occur in various tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are known from the Oriental, Ethiopian, Neotropical regions and Oceania.
features
Eremaeozetes roguini has a similar build and appearance, but Eremaeozetes darwini is much larger. The juvenile stages (protonymph: 310 × 160 µm, deutonymph: 350 × 195 µm and tritonymph: 390-420 × 205-240 µm) are light brown and wrinkled ( plicat ), without a separate band in the middle. They have three large pairs of bristles that are almost the same length andlieposterolaterally on the hysterosomal dorsum .
As an adult, Eremaeozetes darwini differs from other species of the genus in the following features: the rostral end is pointed, there is no interlamellar apophysis , there is a scale in front of the genital plate, the legs have only one claw. The surface of the abdomen and back is covered by an irregular, medium-brown Cerotegumentschicht , but the underlying surface structures are visible. After removing the cerotegument, the surface appears yellowish to light brown, the central area of the abdominal plate has fine dots.
The surface of the Notogaster , the sclerotized dorsal part of the opisthosoma , is structured like a network and without delimited elevations or depressions. It has a strongly curved front edge. The bristles on the Notogaster and the ventral bristles are setiform or spiniform .
distribution
Eremaeozetes darwini was found on the six islands of the Galápagos Archipelago (Fernandina Island, Floreana, Pinta, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabela - Alcedo Volcano and Sierra Negra Volcano), consistently in humid habitats in the higher zones of the islands over 250 m above the sea level. The genus lives mainly in epiphytic moss cushions, in lichens and in mushrooms, but was also found in leaves and fern litter on the ground as well as in grass and herbaceous litter. No morphological differences were observed between the populations on the different islands.
Reproduction
Eremaeozetes darwini is separate sex. The females (432-460 × 220-260 µm) are larger than the males (380-430 × 200-240 µm) and usually carry 2-3 large eggs. Apart from the size, no external sexual dimorphism can be observed.
Systematics
Eremaeozetes darwini has very striking morphological similarities with Eremaeozetes roguini and can be regarded as a sister species. However, the two species differ both in body length and in surface structure: Eremaeozetes darwini is approx. 1.3 times longer than its sister species and the head is more pointed. The lamellar cuspides in Eremaeozetes darwini are blunt, while those in Eremaeozetes roguini taper . The ventral plate of Eremaeozetes darwini is characterized by fine dots, that of the sister species by numerous notches. In addition, Eremaeozetes darwini has much longer prodorsal bristles.
In the juvenile stages there are only minor differences between Eremaeozetes darwini and Eremaeozetes irenae , which is also native to the Galápagos Islands. These two species are limited in their range by the great distance of the Galápagos Islands from the continent and other islands. So one can assume that these are endemic species. Both species, however, are closely related to species in Central America : Eremaeozetes darwini with Eremaeozetes roguini and Eremaeozetes irenae with Eremaeozetes lineatus Mahunka, 1985.
Although Eremaeozetes darwini and Eremaeozetes irenae have much in common, they live in completely different areas in the Galápagos Islands. Eremaeozetes irenae prefers dry areas, which suggests that the ancestors were adapted to drought, while Eremaeozetes darwini can only survive in a humid environment. So it is very likely that both types were descended from different ancestral immigration.
Archiving
The preserved in alcohol holotype (Found: sample GAL 87-G069: Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, on March 6, 1987; Isla Santa Cruz, Scalesia -Bewaldung near Cerro Crocker, 700 m above the sea level, in a wet Lycopodiumpolstern on a branch with roots and moss 0 ° 37 ′ S , 90 ° 21 ′ W ) and paratypes were deposited in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Paratypes are also kept in Heinrich Schatz's collection in Innsbruck , in the Hungarian Museum of Natural Sciences in Budapest and in the Universidad Católica in Quito , Ecuador .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Heinrich Schatz: The genus Eremaeozetes (Acari: Oribatida) on the Galápagos Islands . In: Acarologia . tape 41 , no. 4 , 2001, p. 475-493 (English).
- ^ Antonio Berlese: Acari nuovi, Manipoli VII-VIII. Redia, 9, pp. 77-111, 1913
- ↑ a b c Sandor Mahunka: New data on oribatids (Acari: Oribatida) from St. Lucia (Antilles) . (Acarologica Genavensia 89). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 105, 4, pp. 839-877, 1998
- ^ Sandor Mahunka: Mites (Acari) from St. Lucia (Antilles). 2. Oribatida. Acta Zool. Hung., 31, 1-3, pp. 119-178, 1985