Kaszab Zoltán (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 63. (Budapest 1971)

Mahunka, S.: Zoological collectings of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Korea 4. Acari: species of Fissicepheus Bal. et Mah., 1965, (Oribatei: Otocepheidae)

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Tomus 63 PARS ZOOLOGIGA 1971. Zoological Collectings of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Korea* 4. Acari: Species of Fissieepheus Bal. et Mali., 1965, (Oribatei : Otocepheidae) Ry S. MAHUNKA, Rudapest The First Expedition of the Hungarian Natural History Museum to Korea, 1970, attempted to gather as big a mite material as possible from all visited parts of the country. By extractors operating on the BEELESE principle, we have extracted soil, litter, moss, turf, nest, etc. samples, a total of 128 items representing 52 different samples. The material derives from 3 larger regions of the country: 1. Pyongyang and its environment, 2. the Eastern seashore and the Diamond Range, 3. Kaesong and the Mts. Bagyon. A detailed discussion of the localities, together with our itinerary, will be published in our account of the collecting activities (5). The identification of the collected material is under work. The present paper deals only with the mites belonging to the family Otocepheidae of the Oribatei group. Nine of the samples contained 38 specimens relegable to this group ; they represent 5 species. Strikingly, they were found to be assignable to the genus Fissieepheus BALOGH & MAHUNKA, 1965, redescribed by AOKI (3). The material derives especial interest from the fact that merely 3 species have hitherto been assigned to the genus. The species and subspecies, new also for science, substantiate AOKUS statements on the status of the genus and agree in every respect with his modified diagnosis of the genus. By the new data the range of the genus extends over Vietnam—Korea—Japan, a very interesting and delimited South Asiatic distribution, all other genera being, almost without exception, of a very extensive, nearly cosmopolitan range. The holo- and paratypes of the taxa are deposited, under the inventory numbers published herein, in the Collection of Arachnoidea, Natural History Museum, Budapest. The material examined was jointly collected by Dr. H. STEINMANN and the author. I am indebted to Dr. J. AOKI for lending me for study of the paratypes of species described by him. Taxonomy Fissieepheus elaviopsis sp. n. (Figs. 1—6) Measurements. — Length: 602—760 u., breadth: 285—358 u,. Prodorsum. — Rostrum rounded, spatium lamelliforme laterale strongly widened, forming a fungiform clypeus over rostrum. Lamellae short, hardly pro* The present paper refers to the material collected during the First Expedition (1970.) Participants: Dr. S. MAHUNKA and Dr. H. STEINMANN.