Checklist of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of the Himalayan and Tien Shan Mountains

Abstract

We present an annotated checklist of 238 species of water mites found in the Himalayan and Tien Shan Mountain ranges. The checklist is based on published records and the available data collected from bibliography on water mites of the two mountain regions covering eight countries i.e., Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Tajikistan. Moreover, recent new material has been collected in Kyrgyzstan and Bhutan. Atractides species are more dominant in the Himalayas than in the Tien Shan Mountain. In contrast, Lebertia and Sperchon species are predominant in the Tien Shan Mountain but not in the Himalayas. Interestingly Torrenticola and Monatractides are very scanty in the Tien Shan Mountains but common in the Himalayan streams.