Xenotarsonemus spiniphorus Lofego, Moraes & Ochoa

Demite, Peterson R., Cavalcante, Ana C. C., Lofego, Antonio C., Rodrigues, Ricardo R. & De Moraes, Gilberto J., 2022, Tarsonemid mites (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on myrtaceous plants of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, with description of a new species of Tarsonemus Canestrini & Fanzago, Zootaxa 5094 (1), pp. 153-168 : 165

Xenotarsonemus spiniphorus Lofego, Moraes & Ochoa

Xenotarsonemus spiniphorus Lofego, Moraes & Ochoa, 2007: 11 .

Specimens examined: Cananéia (SP): Gomidesia sp. , VII-2012 (19 ♀, 1 ♂); Blefarocalix salicifolium , I-2013 (2 ♀).

Previous reports: São Paulo —Natural ecosystems (Cerrado): Campomanesia pubescens and Myrcia venulosa ( Lofego et al. 2007) ; Natural ecosystems (Atlantic Forest): Trichillia casaretti ( Demite et al. 2013) and on plant not mentioned ( Demite et al. 2012).

Among the 14 species nominally determined in this study, seven of these ( F. pulvirosus , M, megassolenidii, T. bilobatus , T. confusus , X. brachytegula , X. cerrado and X. spniphorus ) were also found in the Cerrado biome (Lofego & Moraes, 2006; Demite et al. 2009; Rezende et al. 2014). This similarity between the tarsonemids fauna in these two biomes is an unexpected fact, since they are structurally quite different biomes; the Atlantic Forest is a tropical forest, and the Cerrado is a savanna ( IBGE 2012).

The remaining vegetation of the Atlantic Forest shelters a great diversity of tarsonemids, many still new to science. In the present study, the sampling was only a small portion of the entire diversity of the Atlantic Forest (eight sampling areas, with only five plant species from the same family were sampled at each area) and a considerable richness of tarsonemids species was found. In this study, of the identified species, six (40%) were unknown until recently to science ( D. esalqi , K. ochoai , M. caissara , O. dux , X. quiriri , X. scorpius ) ( Lofego et al. 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, Rezende et al. 2015b), in addition to the one described here ( Tarsonemus conduru Lofego & Cavalcante sp. nov.). A great richness of tarsonemid was also recorded in the Atlantic Forest biome by Demite et al. (2012), in a more restricted area in the interior of the São Paulo state, but with a larger sampling, where 100 plant species from several botanical families were collected in 18 areas. In that study, Tarsonemidae was the second family with the highest richness (47 species).

The data from the present study reveal the impressive richness of the family Tarsonemidae in the Atlantic Forest; and indicate how much further efforts are needed to better understand the diversity in this hotspot.