| First record of the Scutacarus eucomus (Berlese, 1908) (Acari: Heterostigmatina: Scutacaridae) from Afghanistan |
| Paper ID : 1063-IPCA4 (R2) |
| Authors |
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Shamsullah hotak Hotak1, Vahid Rahiminejad *2, Mohammadhasan sarailoo1 1Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of agricultural science and natural resource 2Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources |
| Abstract |
| Afghanistan has a large area, different climates, ecosystems and diverse flora and fauna, but so far no comprehensive study has been done on its mite fauna. Among the heterostigmatic mites, only Pseudophygmephorus pappi Mahunka, 1976 (Pygmephoridae) has been reported from Logar Province in central Afghanistan. This is the first report after the Mahunka. The Heterostigmatina includes eight superfamilies and more than 2,000 described species. The Scutacaridae is the largest family in the cohort, with about 800 species in 25 genera. These small-sized mites are ubiquitous and dwell on soil, forest litter, humus, manure, compost, the nests of birds and small animals. Phoresy has observed in majority of the species, generally in association with insects. These mites include primarily fungivorous species, which feeds on the contents of hyphae and rarely conidiospores. According to the study conducted on the fauna of Heterostigmatic mites in Jawzjan province, located in northern Afghanistan in 2020, during the sampling of Sheberghan forest, the capital of Jawzjan province, Scutacarus eucomus (Berlese, 1908) obtained from the collected soil samples. This species is distinguishable by large barbed setae e, f, h1 and h2 which are distinctly thickened. Previously, the species reported from soil samples in Europe. It is noteworthy that such limited faunistic knowledge about this mite in Afghanistan may arouse more faunestic studies to reach to a better perception about the species diversity in this country. |
| Keywords |
| Soil, Mite, Heterostigmatina, Jawzjan Province, Afghanistan |
| Status: Abstract Accepted (Oral Presentation) |