Lohmannella and Simognathus (Halacaridae: Acari) from Western Australia: description of two new species and reflections on the distribution of these genera

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 8 years ago

ABSTRACT – Two new littoral species, Lohmannella septemsetosa sp. nov. and Simognathus cruciferus sp. nov. are described and the description of L. pinggi Otto, 1994 is supplemented. The genera Lohmannella and Simognathus are distributed world-wide. More species are recorded from the southern than northern hemisphere. Lohmannella is abundant in warm-temperate to polar regions but rare in the tropics. In contrast, most records of Simognathus are from tropical and warm-temperate areas. According to external morphological characters and distribution, different lineages of Lohmannella species developed in the north and south. Simognathus demonstrates no such north south discrimination.