Ácaros oribátidos (Acari: Oribatei) del Parque Nacional de la isla de Coiba, Panamá

New records of oribatid mites from Mexico with description of a new species

The present taxonomic study was carried out with material collected in the Michoacán state, Mexico, during one year of sampling. Ten new records of oribatid mites are reported for Mexico. Also, a new species, Gustavia mexicana sp. nov., is described, which differs from Gustavia fusifer (Koch, 1841), G. transylvanica Mahunka, 2006, G. latolamellata Hammer, 1977 and G. magnifica Golosova et Karppinen, 1984 by the absence of setal alveolus c, shape of sensillum, size and shape of rostrum, shape of lamella and presence of sejugal suture, respectively. A detailed description, schemes and photographs of the new species and an identification key for the species of the genus are provided.  

Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest

Most eukaryotic organisms are arthropods. Yet, their diversity in rich terrestrial ecosystems is still unknown. Here we produce tangible estimates of the total species richness of arthropods in a tropical rainforest. Using a comprehensive range of structured protocols, we sampled the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa from the soil to the forest canopy in the San Lorenzo forest, Panama. We collected 6144 arthropod species from 0.48 hectare and extrapolated total species richness to larger areas on the basis of competing models. The whole 6000-hectare forest reserve most likely sustains 25,000 arthropod species. Notably, just 1 hectare of rainforest yields >60% of the arthropod biodiversity held in the wider landscape. Models based on plant diversity fitted the accumulated species richness of both herbivore and nonherbivore taxa exceptionally well. This lends credence to global estimates of arthropod biodiversity developed from plant models.