First data on aquatic mites (Acari) of inland water bodies of West Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Abstract

This paper presents the first results of a study on the aquatic mites (Acari) from the inland water bodies of West Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Six mite species have been found: namely, the oribatids Camisia foveolata Hammer, 1955 and Ameronothrus lineatus (Thorell, 1871); the gamasid mite Halolaelaps sp.; as well as the halacarids Halacarellus sp., Isobactrus levis (Viets, 1927) and Rhombognathides spinipes (Viets, 1933). The latter two species are new to the fauna of Svalbard. No true freshwater mites (Hydrachnidia) have been identified. A preliminary comparison of the inland aquatic acarofauna of Svalbard with the fauna of other Arctic regions has been conducted. The entire halacarid mite fauna of Svalbard (13 species), including both inland water species and true marine ones from the surrounding seas, can be characterized as rather regionally specialized and mainly cryophilic.