Lohmannia regalis Berlese

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 58

Lohmannia regalis Berlese , 1923

Lohmannia regalis Berlese , 1923, p. 261.

Two slides of the species are present in the Berlese Collection, viz. the nos. 222/11 (designated as type) and 222/12 (designated as "cotype", read: paratype). Both preparations, which are in a good condition, originate from "Spalato ", nowadays Split, Yugoslavia.

L. regalis is characterized by transversely divided genital plates, a covering prae-anal; and separate anal plates; in consequence of this it reminds of species of the genus Lohmannia . The ventral lamellae of the feraora, however, point to Thamnacarus , from which genus it strongly dif fers by the abscence of neotrichy and by the shape of the sensillus. For the moment I prefer to classify the species with the genus Lohmannia .

Sellnick (1931, p. 703, figs. 9, 10) published a detailed description of a variety ( L. regalis var. reticulata ) that was found in Levkas, one of the Ionian Islands; on p. 694 of the same paper he records that no less than 80 specimens have been collected. A summary of the differential characters of the variety is not given, but the name reticulata points to the reticulate structure of the tegument as main difference. This structure is indeed absent or invisible in Berlese's types. It is, however, not easy to establish further differences; both Yugoslavian specimens are only slightly more slender than the specimen figured by Sellnick. Because a reticulate structure is sometimes difficult to observe, I doubt whether Sellnick's specimens really differ from the typical regalis .