Eniochthonius minutissimus, Grandjean, 1933

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 17

Eniochthonius minutissimus (Berlese, 1904) (= pallidulus auct.)

Hypocthonius pallidulus, Berlese , 1896b, p. 25.

Hypochthonius minutissimus Berlese , 1904, p. 252.

Hypochthonius (Hypochthoniella) pallidulus , Berlese, 1910, p. 218.

The original description of H. minutissimus appears to have escaped the notice of later authors; it is, besides, a remarkable fact that afterwards Berlese never recorded the species again. The diagnosis, as usually much too short, gives no decisive answer as to specific identity, but nevertheless reminds of the genus Hypochthoniella .

In the hand-written catalogue of the Berlese Collection the name H. minutissimus does not occur. Among the material booked as H. pallidulus I found, however, the slides of three types; these bear on the labels the name H. minutissimus that in pencil, in Berlese's own handwriting, is corrected into pallidulus . It concerns the slides nos. 19/8, 20/2, and 20/3 that are still labelled as "tipico"; the specimens have been collected at Florence in the "Giardino di Boboli", as was recorded in the original description. A further study of the type specimens shows that they are indeed identical with pallidulus sensu Michael; the same conclusion applies to the remaining material of pallidulus .

It is a proof of inaccuracy that Berlese never published his correction; in this manner he has been the cause that the name minutissimus was not introduced before. Grandjean (1933), who discovered the real identity of H. pallidulus C. L. Koch , supposed that it is possible to preserve the name pallidulus in the genus Eniochthonius ; consequently he cites the species afterwards as Eniochthonius pallidulus (Michael) . Because this is contrary to the international rules of nomenclature I created (Van der Hammen, 1952) the name Eniochthonius grandjeani . It is evident now that both names must be placed in the synonymy of E. minutissimus .