Carolinea 78

132 Carolinea 78 (2020) Comments: W eigmann et al. (2015) list the spe- cies as having been detected in one site in Baden-Württemberg but do not refer to the pu- blication indicating this. The only other record of the species for Germany so far is by W illmann (1931), who found them in Naumburg an der Saale in Saxony-Anhalt, associated with the roots of grapevines. W illmann (1931: 98) actually termed the speci- mens he discovered as belonging to the then newly erected variety “ Parhypochthonius aphi- dinus B erl . var. germanicus W illm .”, which is nowadays regarded as being a subspecies name correctly proposed in accordance with the current rules of the International Commisi- on of Zoological Nomenclature. He did not pre- sent a differential diagnosis for the taxon, but his illustration of the dorsal whole mount view (fig. 18) shows more posterior notogastral se- tae than are visible in the original drawing by B erlese (1904, fig. 42). Furthermore W illmann (1931) comments on an asymmetry between the left and right sensillus, (as seen in dorsal perspective and apparently through the lenses of a compound microscope), with the elongate pectinations of the right sensillus being directed anteriad or anterolaterad, and those of the left sensillus being directed upwards and simultane- ously either posteriad or posterolaterad, where- as the sensilli in the drawing of the specimen by B erlese (1904, fig. 42) are approximately symmetrical. Asymmetric sensilli were similar- ly present in the Parhypochthonius aphidinus collected by G randjean (1932) in France, which in a later paper ( G randjean 1934a: 424) he had named “ Parhypochthonius sp.”. V an der H ammen (1959) inspected the Parhypo- chthonius aphidinus material of B erlese in Flo- rence in Tuscany, Italy. He noted that several microscope slides of the species were present and that one of these showed an asymmetry of the sensillus sensu W illmann . Many years later W eigmann also travelled to Florence and exa- mined the material of Parhypochthonius aphidi- nus in the B erlese collection. From W eigmann ´s (2006: 108, fig. 55d) illustration it can be seen that the original drawing by B erlese (1904) is inaccurate with regard to both the setal lengths and also to the number of setae on the posterior notogaster. The drawing of P. aphidinus by W eig - mann (2006) agrees very well with the morpholo- gy of the specimens from Mannheim. Similarly, the adult body length including the chelicerae (mean value 428 μm, n = 9) of the Mannheim mites is very similar to that of the actual Italian specimen examined by W eigmann (2006) , name- ly 415 μm, while B erlese (1904) gives a length of 450 μm for the Italian specimens of the species. The pectination of the right and left sensillus in the material from Mannheim was dissimi- lar sensu W illmann (1931) in 8 out of 10 adult specimens examined. Since useful comparative specimens of Parhypochthonius aphidinus from the W illmann Collection do not exist ( W eigmann 2006: 107), the Mannheim specimens fit well to what is reliably known about P . aphidinus , and the sensillus of this species may possibly also very often be asymmetric in mites originating from the type location in Florence, I here treat the subspecies erected by W illmann as a synonym of the nominotypological subspecies. In this classi- fication I follow V an der H ammen (1959), W eigmann (2006) and S chatz (2020). A detailed study of this species using also new material from the origi- nal collection sites in Naumburg and Florence as well as from other locations may conclusively answer the question of whether or not the materi- al from Mannheim represents Parhypochthonius aphidinus germanicus . Literature A oki , J .- I . (2005): Oribatid mites of the Tokiwamatsu Im- perial Villa, Tokyo. – Memoir of the National Science Museum, Tokyo 39 (March 25): 479-483. 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B erlese , A. (1904): Acari nuovi. Manipulus III. – Redia 2 : 10-32. C oggi , A. (1898): Descrizione di specie nuove di Ori- batidi italiani e annotazioni a specie conoscuite. – Bolletino della Società Entomologica Italiano 30 : 68-83.