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Type: Article
Published: 2019-04-15
Page range: 501–516
Abstract views: 169
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Marine mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of the Mediterranean Sea: Descriptions of two new species, key for identification and future prospects

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Işıklar Caddesi No 16, 17 TR-07100 Antalya, Turkey
Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Limnology, Institute for Research on Biodiversity, Faculty of Biology, Center of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Szczecin, Wąska 13, 71–415 Szczecin, Poland
Acari Marine mites new species checklist marine littoral Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

This paper provides a current overview of the diversity of the marine water mite family Pontarachnidae of the Mediterranean Sea. The checklist includes ten species from two genera, i.e. Litarachna Walter, 1925 and Pontarachna Philippi, 1840. Two species i.e., Litarachna muratsezgini sp. nov. and Pontarachna turcica sp. nov. from the Gulf of Antalya (Levantine Sea, Turkey), are described as new for science. Moreover, the key for the identification of Mediterranean Pontarachnidae species and a brief discussion on the current gaps and future prospects of our knowledge of this important but neglected component of the marine meiofauna are given.

 

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