* Correspondence: sbaran@sakarya.edu.tr Most oribatid mites are members of soil fauna. They are free-living organisms; none of them are parasites, but some are intermediate hosts of tapeworms (Shimano, 2004). Oribatids have an important role in the soil ecosystem. They affect litter decomposition by a mechanical breaking down of organic materials and fragmentation, by digestive functions that cause physical and chemical changes to organic substances, by dispersing bacterial and fungal spores by carrying them on their body surface and digestive system, and by stimulating microfloral activity through grazing (Norton, 1985; Behan-Pelletier, 1999). Oribatid mites are also effective bioindicators of changes in the soil ecosystem (Behan-Pelletier, 1999; Yang et al., 2015). Oribatid mites are represented by more than 10,000 species within 164 families, and by 1262 genera and subgenera in the latest version of the world mite catalogue (Subias, 2004, updated 2016). The fauna of Acari in Turkey and its first and second supplements were given by Ozkan et al. (1988), Ozkan et al. (1994), and Erman et al. (2007), respectively. In those studies, 144 species included in 75 genera and 43 families of oribatid mites were listed. Prior to this study, no data relating to the oribatid mites of Amasya Province were available. The genus Lucoppia Berlese, 1908 is recorded from Turkey for the first time in this study. The genus Lucoppia is included in the family Oribatulidae Thor, 1929 and is characterized by short inclined lamellae, absence of cuspides, presence of translamella, long (longer than lamella) lamellar setae closer to interlamellar setae than to rostral setae, 14 pairs of strong notogastral setae, five pairs of genital setae, two pairs of anal setae, one pair of aggenital setae, three pairs of adanal setae, and tridactyle legs (Balogh and Balogh, 1992; Weigmann, 2006, 2011). The genus is represented by 4 species and has global distribution (except Antarctica) (Subias, 2004, updated 2016). Formerly, none of these species were known in Turkey. In the present paper, the morphological features of Lucoppia burrowsi, which is new for Turkish fauna, are presented. The scanning electron microscopy images of the species are also given. The main goal of our research is to contribute to the knowledge of the Turkish oribatid mite fauna. Mites were extracted with a Tullgren funnel apparatus from the soil samples collected from Amasya Province. They were fixed and stored in 70% ethanol. Mites were sorted from the samples under a stereomicroscope (Olympus SZX51) and mounted on slides in modified Hoyer’s medium or 35% lactic acid. The terminology used in this paper follows Balogh and Balogh (1992). Examined materials are deposited in the acarological collection of the second author, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey. Family: Oribatulidae Thor, 1929. Genus: Lucoppia Berlese, 1908. Type species: Notaspis burrowsi Michael, 1890. Lucoppia burrowsi (Michael, 1890) Material examined: The examined material was collected from grassy soil, Amasya Province, Turkey, 40°69ʹN, 35°81ʹE, 398 m a.s.l., 31.01.2015 (2 ♀♀). Measurements: Body length 589–648 μm, width 372– 406 μm, setae ro 55–57 μm, setae le 120–124 μm, setae in 53–57 μm, setae ex 65–67 μm, ss 62–63 μm, setae c2 113– 115 μm, and setae c1 96–101 μm. Abstract: Redescription and SEM images of Lucoppia burrowsi (Michael, 1890) are given. The genus Lucoppia is recorded for the first time in Turkey.
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May 31, 2018
Sergey G Ermilov + 1
Open Access