First investigation on oribatid fauna (Acari, Oribatida) of bird nests in China, with description of a new species of the genus Plonaphacarus (Steganacaridae)

Abstract

In this study, the investigation on oribatid fauna of bird nests is carried out for the first time in China. All oribatid mite material (Acari, Oribatida) were collected from artificial bird nests on the campus of the Nanchang Hangkong University. A list of identified taxa, including seven species and one subspecies from seven genera and seven families, is presented. Of these, one species, Nanhermannia himalayensis Chakrabarti & Raychaudhuri, 1978, is recorded in China for the first time. A new species of the genus Plonaphacarus is described, namely P. nanchangensis sp. nov., which is distinguished from all species of the genus by the presence of four dorsal cristae and short lateral carinae on prodorsum, interlamellar and c1, c2, c3 setae robust and obtuse distally, and setae d on femora I bifurcate. In addition, a key to all known species of Plonaphacarus from China is provided.