S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 57. (Budapest, 1996)

ROVARTANI KÖZLEMÉNYEK LVII 1996 pp. 237-241 A peculiar new Scapheremaeus species from Mexico (Acari: Oribatida) G. Rio s A peculiar new Scapheremaeus species from Mexico (Acari: Oribatida) — A new species of Scapheremaeus Berlese, 1910 is described and illustrated, from mosses samples collected in the central volcanic zone of Mexico. INTRODUCTION In the Laboratory of Ecology and Systematics of Microarthropods of UNAM, we have collected and elaborated mite material from soil, litter, mosses and another environments in the canopy level of several localities in Mexico. Among this material there were represented, in large numbers species belonging to the genus Scapheremaeus Berlese, 1910 (Agustin-Serrano and Palacios-Vargas 1995), which mostly feed on lichens and mosses. I plan to study them and resolve the relations and connections among the species in this genus. Only 16 species were cited from the Neotropical Region (J. Balogh and P. Balogh 1990). In this work I describe a new species collected in volcanic areas near Mexico City, in the central part of an important volcanic zone named "Eje Neovolcánico". This species is very peculiar and interesting in the whole genus because its peculiar reduction of the notogastral chaetotaxy. With this description I start a series of contributions from the Neotropical species of Scapheremaeus, DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW SPECIES Scapheremaeus palaciosi sp. n. Measurements — Length of body: (n=7) 452 pm; width of body (n=7) 255 pm. The specimens show a yellow-brown colour, with a few particles adhered to the body. The lenticulus is clean and it has a semi-rounded shape. Integument: The whole body and all the leg joints covered by a thick cerotegument layer. The notogastral setae also are covered by it, therefore they seem to be needle shaped, but with their apex often broken. Project "Biodiversity of Mexican mites", supported by CONACyT and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.