Taxonomy and ecology of the Arctic oribatid mite Svalbardia lucens comb. nov. (Acari, Oribatida, Ceratozetidae): resolving a long-standing confusion

Abstract

For decades, two very similar Arctic oribatid mite species in the family Ceratozetidae—Oromurcia lucens (L. Koch, 1879) and Svalbardia paludicola Thor, 1930—were considered independent taxa and were often confused in the literature. Based on morphological analysis of specimens from the type localities, as well as extensive material from different Arctic regions, we make the following taxonomic proposals: Svalbardia lucens (L. Koch, 1879) comb. nov. (=Svalbardia paludicola Thor, 1930 syn. nov.). Furthermore, we propose that the subfossil Svalbardia rostralis Druk, 1982 (in Kiselev et al. 1982) is a junior subjective synonym (syn. nov.) of S. lucens. We summarize data on distribution and habitat preferences of S. lucens in the Arctic. The frequent occurrence of S. lucens in Pleistocene deposits and its strong dependence on moisture make this species a reliable “type fossil” in paleoclimatic reconstructions.