taxonID	type	description	language	source
3F7987AAFFF28040FF227EE9A475FE96.taxon	description	Typical Holarctic species with strongly broadened notogastral setae are: Trhypochthonius tectorum, T. americanus, T. fujinitaensis, and T. stercus. Less typical Holarctic species with barely broadened setae are: Trhypochthonius japonicus, T. silvestris, and T. misumaiensis. These species have likely been confused with T. tectorum in some literature. The European species T. nigricans Willmann, 1928, occurring in wet bogs, has notogastal setae with short setulae, not broadened distally (redescribed by Weigmann 1997 b — partly as the synonymous T. sphagnicola 1 — and by Szywilewska-Szczykutowicz & Olszanowski 2007). The species is not further discussed.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFF58043FF227980A619FC45.taxon	description	(Figs. 2, 4 a, 5 a, 9 a)	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFF58043FF227980A619FC45.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Body length about 600 – 700 µ m. Most notogastral setae with spinose setulae and distally broadened (except d 2, p 2 - 3); seta c 2 as long as c 3 (about 50 µm), c 1 and d 1 smaller (about 30 µm), d 2 smallest (about 20 µm), p 1 longest (about 70 – 100 µm), weakly broadened; p - setae acuminate and sparsely spinose. 7 – 11 pairs of genital setae. Notogaster without distinct posterior boss. General characters. Mean body length 643 µm (addition of prodorsum and notogaster lengths); range 599 - 694 µm; mean length of notogaster 456 µm, mean width 378 µm (n = 27). Prodorsum. Rostral seta about 75 µm long, acuminate, with setulae (seta type 3: cf. Fig. 1 a); lamellar (le) and interlamellar (in) setae bacilliform with setulae (type 4), le about 90 µm, in about 100 µm. Sensillus (ss) with fusiform head with strong spiculae (Fig. 2). Notogaster. Detailed length of all setae in table 1; shapes of setae in Figs 4 a and 9 a. Normally, smooth ventral postanal area paa in fig 2 c not reaching posterior notogastral edge (in some specimens rarely extending notogaster edge, forming small “ boss ”, i. e. round projection). Ventral region. As typical for the genus. In one specimen two anal setae on the right anal plate. Genital setation (Fig. 5 a) slightly variable from population to population and often asymmetrically expressed in the specimens; the range from 8 to 11 pairs, median number 10 (one specimen on one side 7). Mostly posterior edge of the postanal area (Fig. 2: paa) not reaching the edge of the notogaster. Legs. Tarsus I with solenidion ω 1 normally in dorsal position, ω 2 long, anterolateral position near seta p ”, ω 3 short, mediolateral; in T. tectorum var. congregator ω 3 is long and near ω 2 (Grandjean 1940). The studied specimens (n = 3) represent the typical form. Leg setation formulas for trochanter, femur, genu, tibia, tarsus (+ solenidia) (after Weigmann 1997 b): Leg I: 1 – 6 – 5 (+ 1) – 5 (+ 2) – 16 (+ 3); leg II: 1 – 6 / 7 – 5 (+ 1) – 13 (+ 2); leg III: 2 – 4 3 (+ 1) – (+ 1) – 12; leg IV: 1 – 2 – 3 – 3 (+ 1) – 12.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFF58043FF227980A619FC45.taxon	materials_examined	Material examined. (1) Slides in Berlese collection, especially slide 23 / 48 (Fig. 1 b in Weigmann 1997 b). Genital setation recontrolled by Dr. R. Nannelli, Florence, pers. comm. (2) Austria, Eastern-Tyrol, Virgental; leg. Heinrich Schatz (Fig. 1 a in Weigmann 1997 b). (3) Austria, Carinthia, Ferlach; leg. G. Raspotnig. 21.7.200 7, from moss on a roof. (4) Austria, Styria, City of Graz; leg. G. Raspotnig 10.3.200 9, from moss on street pavement. (5) Austria, Styria, Bachsdorf near Graz; leg. G. Raspotnig 12.6.200 7, from moss on a roof. The latin etymology “ sphagnicola “ or “ cladonicola ” is used attributively in male gender, analogous to the latin word “ agricola ” (= colonizer of farmland) (6) Northern Italy, near Reschen; leg. Heinrich Schatz 2008; poor grassland; 1570 m a. s. l. (7) Austria, Tyrol, Kaunerberg; leg. Heinrich Schatz 31.8.2005; dry meadow, 1350 m a. s. l. (8) Austria, Tyrol, Fragenstein near Zirl; leg. Heinrich Schatz; dry meadow, 750 m a. s. l. (9) Germany, Milseburg near Fulda; leg. G. Weigmann, 4.6.199 4, from dry moss on stones. (10) South-West Germany, Black Forest Mountains, Schauinsland; leg. 1986, Boris Schnebele, Freiburg; from lichens on tree bark.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFF58043FF227980A619FC45.taxon	discussion	Remarks. If not mentioned converse, in the following T. tectorum refers to the typical subspecies. The most specific diagnostic character of T. tectorum is the length of notogastral seta c 2 (as long as c 3: about 50 µm) and the equal length of seta e 1 (it seems shorter in Fig. 2 a because of parallax projection). By contrast, in two other European species of the tectorum group, as described below, setae c 2 and e 1 are distinctly smaller. Secondarily, the lack of a distinct posterior boss of the notogaster, the genital setation of 8 - 11 pairs, the numerous distally broadened notogastral setae with spinose setulae, and the body size of 600 - 700 µm length are of diagnostic importance. A study of published descriptions and figures of “ T. tectorum ”, suggests that only some fit these notogastral setation characteristics, which are clearly present in the original description of Berlese (1896) as well as in specimens of his collection (see Fig. 1 b in Weigmann 1997 b): Warburton & Pearce (1905), Willmann (1931), Schweizer (1956), Pérez-Iñigo (1968), Kunst (1971), Weigmann (1997 a, 2006). Probably Trhypochthonius spinosus Kulijev, 1968, is a synonym, but the description is very short and there is no indication about the genital setae. Aoki (2000) presented an accurate drawing of the dorsal aspect and the ano-genital region of his “ T. tectorum ”: because of the six pairs of genital setae it resembles more probably T. americanus than the European T. tectorum (discussed also in the section on T. americanus below). The figured “ T. tectorum ” in Hammer (1952) from North Canada also may be T. americanus, as redescribed below, but this can not be verified without at least knowing the genital setation. Kamill et al. (1986) described and figured a “ T. tectorum ” specimen from New Mexico (USA) which has large c 2 - seta as is present in T. tectorum Berlese and in T. americanus (cf. next section); the genital setation with 6 - 7 pairs agrees with T. americanus, but it differs from both by large d 2 - setae (the distincly smaller d 2 - seta in comparison with d 1, c 1, c 2 and c 3 is one of the most important diagnostic characters of both T. tectorum and americanus), and the body length with 545 - 605 µm is less than in the two other species. The New Mexico specimen needs to be restudied. Regarding the notogastral setation of the c-e rows, especially the very short setae c 1, c 2, d 1, d 2, it seems certain that the following studies and illustrations of “ T. tectorum ” do not represent Berlese’s species: Balogh (1972: pl. 8, Fig. 13); Gilyarov & Krivolutsky (1975: Fig. 140 — redrawn from Balogh 1972); Hammer (1961: pl. 2, Fig. 6 — from Peru); Balogh & Balogh (1992: pl. 57 C — redrawn from Hammer 1961); Seniczak (1992: 416). Fujikawa (2000) described two Japanese species similar to T. tectorum. Trhypochthonius fujinitaensis and T. stercus differ from T. tectorum in details of the notogastral setation (cf. Fig. 4 a): c 1 and d 1 shorter, h 3 longer. The possible taxonomical relation of these species is discussed below.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFF58043FF227980A619FC45.taxon	distribution	Distribution and ecology. In summary, all references to Berlese’s Trhypochthonius tectorum from outside Europe are questionable or clearly belong to different species. North American findings (as pictured by Hammer 1952) need reinvestigation. Provisionally, T. tectorum must be regarded as a European species with probable extensions to the Caucasus. In ecological respects, the species prefers dry to very dry habitats, like moss cushions on roofs, walls and trees and dry grassy areas.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFFE804BFF2278BEA4A1FC66.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Body length about 640 - 690 µm. Most notogastral setae bacilliform with spinose setulae, never distally broadened; setae c 1 and c 2 (range 11 - 24 µm) half or less the length of c 3 and d 3 (40 - 53 µm), d 1 and smaller d 2 (13 - 16 µm), e 1 of medium length (35 - 40 µm); posterior notogastral setae longer, p 1 the longest (90 - 93 µm), spinose and acuminate; p 2 remarkably long (80 - 81 µm), acuminate and sparsely spinose; h 3 and p 3 smooth setiform, less than half the length of p 2. 6 - 10 pairs of genital setae, mostly 8. (cf. table 3). Notogaster with distinct posterior boss.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFFE8055FF227C31A1C4FDB8.taxon	description	(Figs 8, 4 e, 5 e, 9 b)	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFFE8055FF227C31A1C4FDB8.taxon	diagnosis	Differential diagnosis. Body length about 680 – 750 µm. Shape of notogastral setae as in nominate form; setae c 1 and c 2 (range 16 - 21 µm) distinctly shorter than c 3 and d 3 (52 - 70 µm), d 1 and smaller d 2 (18 - 26 µm), e 1 of medium length (41 - 54 µm); posterior notogastral setae longer, p 1 the longest (92 - 108 µm), spinose and acuminate; p 2 remarkably long (about 82 µm), acuminate and sparsely spinose; h 3 and p 3 smooth setiform (17 - 38 µm), less than half the length of p 2. 12 – 14 pairs of genital setae, mostly 13. General characters. Mean body length 717 µm, measured range 682 – 746 µm; mean length of notogaster 507 µm, mean width 417 µm (n = 6). Prodorsum. Sensillus about 85 µm long with slender head; rostral seta about 83 µm long, acuminate, with setulae (seta type 3: cf. Fig. 1 a); lamellar seta about 88 µ m long, bacilliform with setulae (type 4); interlamellar seta about 125 µm long, acuminate, with setulae (type 3). Notogaster. Detailed length values of all setae in table 3; shapes of setae in Figs 4 e and 9 b. With distinct posterior boss. Ventral region. As typical for the genus. The genital setation (Fig. 5 e) is slightly variable within the range from 12 – 14 pairs, median number is 13, often asymmetrically expressed. Material examined. (1) Austria, Carinthia, Waidischbach near Ferlach; leg. G. Raspotnig, 22.2.200 7 and 24.9.2008; from litter and moss in a Pinus stand. Five specimens. (2) Austria, Tyrol, Kranebitter Au near Innsbruck; leg. Heinrich Schatz, March 2000; moist litter in a deciduous forest. Four specimens. (3) Germany, Bärenklau Forest northern Berlin; leg. G. Weigmann, 1991; from litter and moss in a Pinus stand. One specimen.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFFE8055FF227C31A1C4FDB8.taxon	discussion	Remarks. The most obvious difference between the two forms of Trhypochthonius japonicus is in the number of genital setae: 6 – 10 (median 8) in the Japanese form, 12 – 14 (median 13) in the European form B (= forma occidentalis). The notogastral setation profile is very similar, but some setae appear a little stronger (cf. the form types indicated in table 3) in forma occidentalis from Austria, compared to those of the nominate form from Shigoku Island, Japan (Aoki 1970). Except seta h 2 and p - setae, all notogastral setae are consistently longer in forma occidentalis, both absolutely and in relative proportions, yet the differences mostly are not significant (see table 4 in the statistical section below). Also there is a tendency for larger bodies in the European forma occidentalis, though we have few data (n = 3 for the Japanese form, n = 6 for the European form from Carinthia; the Innsbruck-population has the same range) and ranges overlap (tab. 3). Small differences occur also among populations of Trhypochthonius tectorum from different origins (see the statistical section below). With such limited sampling of the Palaearctic region, we do not overestimate the taxonomical relevance of the differences between the studied populations in Japan and Europe, so we propose only a regional form for the European populations. This proposal is supported by the fact that the profile of the oil gland secretion of the European population is identical to that of the Japanese T. japonicus as described by Sakata et al. (2003) (G. R., unpublished). Trhypochthonius misumaiensis Fujikawa, 2000 has the same range of genital setation (11 – 12 pairs) and a similar notogastral setation as does T. japonicus forma occidentalis. Yet the body is smaller (629 – 643 µm length) and there are some notogastral setae with stronger setulation: c 3, f 2, h 2, p 2. Most notogastral setae are distinctly shorter, especially c 1, c 2, d 1, d 2, which are less than 15 µm. We regard T. misumaiensis to be a subspecies of T. silvestris (see above).	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFFE8055FF227C31A1C4FDB8.taxon	distribution	Distribution and ecology. The nominate form of Trhypochthonius japonicus has been found only in Japan (Shigoku Island); the European forma occidentalis has been found only in Austria and northern Germany. In Europe T. japonicus seems to prefer moderately dry to moist litter in forests. The European records in Carinthia and North Germany are syntopic with T. silvestris europaeus n. subsp.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFE28057FF2278BEA031FC65.taxon	materials_examined	The biometrical data numbers of genital setae, notogastral setal lengths (%) and notogaster lengths (µm) were measured from each specimen of six Trhypochthonius tectorum populations (3: n = 5), (6: n = 4), (7: n = 5), (8: n = 5), (9: n = 5) and (10: n = 3), as listed in the section “ Material examined ”. The number of genital setae pairs varies within the populations and obviously also among the populations of T. tectorum (Fig. 10 b). The total observed range of setae pairs is 7 – 11; the median value in populations (9) and (10) is nine, in (3) is ten, in (6), (7) and (8) is eleven. There were no significant differences of notogaster lengths among the tested six populations (Fig. 10 a). Only in three of fifteen notogastral setae sets were significant differences found: regarding setae d 2, population (3) is significantly different from all others which are otherwise not different from each other. The significant differences regarding d 1 and p 1 are indicated in figures 11 c and 11 d: the relative lengths of seta d 1 are partly different between populations and show moderate variability within populations. Population (10) is represented only by three specimens that probably are not fully representative. As two examples, figures 11 a and 11 b show the non-significant variability between the populations for setae c 2 and c 3; the means are partly different, but the ranges overlap.	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
3F7987AAFFE28057FF2278BEA031FC65.taxon	discussion	Remarks. The observed but limited biometrical differences among populations of Trhypochthonius tectorum are not surprising, considering that the species is strictly parthenogenetic; populations consist of clone lines without genetic interchange, which would balance variability within populations as occurs in bisexual species. Similar differences between populations are observed in other biometrically analysed parthenogenetic species, e. g. in Tectocepheus and Trhypochthoniellus species (Weigmann 1999, 2002).	en	Weigmann, Gerd, Raspotnig, Günther (2009): Comparative morphological and biometrical studies on Trhypochthonius species of the tectorum species group (Acari: Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae). Zootaxa 2269 (1): 1-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2269.1.1, URL: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2269.1.1
