Rhombognathus scutulatus Bartsch, 1983

Chatterjee, Tapas, 2022, An annotated checklist of halacarid mites (Acari, Halacaridae) from India, Zootaxa 5141 (4), pp. 301-320 : 309

Rhombognathus scutulatus Bartsch, 1983

Records from India. ANDHRA PRADESH: Palm beach,Visakhapatnam, among rocky algae— Chatterjee (1995c). GOA: Anjuna beach, among rocky algae Sargassum, Ulva and Gracillaria — Chatterjee & Nanajkar (2019). KERALA: Kovalam beach, among rocky algae— Chatterjee (1995c, 1996b). TAMIL NADU: Kanya Kumari (= Cape Comorin), among rocky algae— Chatterjee (1995c).

Records from other places. AUSTRALIA: Rottnest Island (Bickley point, Nancy cove, Little Armstrong Bay), Great Barrier Reef (Cape Fergusen, Magnetic Island, Alma Bay), Cape Vlamingh, Fish Hook Bay, East coast of the Burrup Peninsula, Watering Cove, among segrass Amphibolis sp. , various algae e.g., Caulerpa sp. , Amphiroa sp. , Cystophora sp , Zonaria sp. — Bartsch (1993, 1999b, 2000, 2003b). IRAN: Chabahar Beach, Darya Bozorg, Gulf of Oman, among algae Sargassum sp. — Abé & Etemadi (2014). MAURITIUS: South of Port Louis, Flic en Flac— Bartsch (2009c). NEW GUNIA: Base G beach, Jayapura— Smit (2011). PHILIPPINES: Negros Island, 0-3 m — Bartsch (1983). SINGAPORE: Strait of Singapore, Labrador park, small brown and green rocky algae— Bartsch (2006). SRILANKA: Ahangama, among Halimeda from a moderately exposed fringing reef flat— Bartsch (2006).

Distribution. ISE—Western Australia; ITE— India (East and West coast of India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands), Srilanka; ITW— Kenya, Mauritius, Iran; PTW— Philippines, eastern Australia, Singapore, New Gunia.

Remarks. This species exhibits wide variation in number of tines on the accessory process of lateral claws ranging from 10 to 28 ( Bartsch 2009c; Abé & Etemadi 2014; Chatterjee & Nanajkar 2019). Chatterjee (1996b) reported ciliate infestation on R. scutulatus from Kovalam beach, Kerala.