Two new species of Schusteria (Acari: Oribatida: Ameronothroidea) from marine shores in southern Africa

Abstract

Oribatid mites are typically terrestrial, though many species of Ameronothroidea are marine intertidal. Marine ameronothroids are cosmopolitan with genera being endemic to the Holarctic, sub-Antarctic, or equatorial Indo-Pacific and tropical Atlantic regions. Recent collections from rocky-shores and mangroves of the subtropical east coast of southern Africa (South Africa and Mozambique) contained specimens of the hitherto monospecific genus, Schusteria Grandjean, 1968, one of ten genera from four families of marine ameronothroid. This article describes two new Schusteria species, S. ugraseni n.sp and S. melanomerus n.sp., and compares them with the known species, S. littorea Grandjean, 1968.

Key words: Ameronothroidea, marine mites, Oribatida, Schusteria, taxonomy.