Carolinea 74

L amos : Tokukobelba gen. nov. (Acari: Oribatida: Damaeidae) 61 species that survived the Pleistocene ice ages in sheltered ice-free alpine regions in the South- ern Limestone Alps. Tokukobelba compta was found by me in Southern Germany on elevated sites on the Königstuhl, belonging to the Oden- wald mountain range, which similarly were not covered by ice during the last glaciations. Dur- ing the last glacial maximum almost the entire present-day distribution area of Tokukobelba was covered either by a thick ice sheet or by polar or alpine desert, or in the more southern regions by a steppe and tundra vegetation. The presence of T. compta on Central and East European low- lands is most likely a case of postglacial range expansion. Tokukobelba compta appears to be a cold adapted species and this may also be true of some other representatives of the genus. S idor - chuk (2009) sampled the species in the polar Urals and I ngimarsdóttir et al. (2012) discovered it on recently exposed nunataks in the Vatnajökoll glacier in Iceland. However T itsukiensis occurs in the subtropical climate zone of southern Japan ( F ujikawa 2011). Species of Tokukobelba have most often been found in forests, not only predominantly conifer- ous ones of the taiga biome ( B ulanova - Z achvatki - na 1962, B ayartogtokh 2000), but also including mixed and broadleaf forests ( H ammer 1977, F ujita & F ujikawa 1986). Tokukobelba compta , the best studied species, may also occur in moors and bogs ( S tarý 2005) and habitats devoid of trees such as alpine heath ( H eggen 2010) or arctic tundra ( T hor 1930, 1937). It is clearly tolerant of acidic conditions ( S trenzke 1952). Representa- tives of Tokukobelba typically inhabit the litter or upper soil layer, and are also frequently seen on mosses, like most Damaeidae ( K ulczy ń ski 1902a, B ulanova - Z achvatkina 1962, F ujita & F ujikawa 1986, B ayartogtokh 2000, 2004a). Al- though they may occasionally be associated with lichens as was noted for T verrucosa by B ulano - va - Z achvatkina (1962) who sampled the species from reindeer lichen, they appear to show no preference for these. S trenzke (1952), M iko (2006a), S chatz (2008) and also others such as H onciuc & L undqvist (2009) perceive T . compta as being hygrophilic and the same appears to apply to T . verrucosa , which has been found beneath flora with a high humid- ity requirement such as fern ( H ammer 1977). The Heidelberg specimens of T . compta were found in dripping wet humus in little gullies between rocks on a mountain slope, which to some ex- tent channel the water streaming downhill, while others occurred in wet moss, but were not de- tected in directly adjacent dry microhabitats such as on or in lichen. For the remaining species of Tokukobelba the data are not yet conclusive, but T . mongolica has been collected on the banks of a stream under willow by B ayartogtokh (2004a), while T . barbata has been sampled at its type locality under bamboo grass ( Sasa senanensis ) and the fern Dryopteris monticola ( F ujita & F u - jikawa 1986), both with a high soil moisture re- quirement, which suggests these Tokukobelba species may similarly be hygrophilic. N ordberg (1936) detected Tokukobelba compta in the nests of various bird species. K rivolutsky & L ebedeva (2004) record the presence of numer- ous mite species which included T verrucosa and T sellnicki in nests of the magpie ( Pica pica ) and the hooded crow ( Corvus corone ), respec- tively. The authors suggest that birds may play a significant role in the dispersal of mites. This appears to be the case in Tokukobelba . Available data indicate that Tokukobelba spe- cies reproduce sexually and have a 1:1 sex ratio. A population sample of 20 adult T compta col- lected in Heidelberg comprised 11 males and 9 females. The members of Tokukobelba , like other Damaeidae ( S chuster 1956, L uxton 1972, N orton 1977a, S iepel & D e R uiter -D ijkman 1993) appear to be microphytophagous where known ( S chatz 1983, H onciuc & L undqvist 2009), feed- ing predominantly on saprotrophic fungi and sometimes algae. The gut contents of T compta examined by me contained fungal hyphae. Al- ready F orsslund (1938) noted that Tokukobelba compta feeds primarily on fungi. Similarly, S chus - ter (1956) studying the gut content of a speci- men of T compta found a single food bolus of parenchymous material, but all others were of the remains of fungi. 4 Description of Tokukobelba compta specimens from Heidelberg Adult With the general characteristics of its genus. Body dimensions. Total body length 539 (493- 569) µm. Ventral body length 508 (477-527) µm. Body width 326 (305-347) µm. Body height 301 µm. Length of proterosoma 204 µm. Length of hysterosoma 304 µm. Ratio of ventral body length to body width 1,56:1.