Acaroceras (Acaroceras) galapagoensis Schatz & Palacios-Vargas, 1999

Revelo-Tobar, Harol, 2022, Checklist of Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) of Ecuador, Zootaxa 5210 (1), pp. 1-96 : 36-37

Acaroceras (Acaroceras) galapagoensis Schatz & Palacios-Vargas, 1999

Acaroceras galapagoensis: Schatz (1998) ; Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999).

Distribution: Ecuador.

Records in Ecuador: Galápagos (Islas: Fernandina, Floreana, Gardner, Isabela, Pinta, Pinzón, Plaza Sur, Rábida, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Seymour Norte).

Habitat: Isla Fernandina: moist zone western part of the island, near “green crater”, in decayed leaf litter under Zanthoxylum fagara and Psychotria rufipes , in grass litter under Cyperus andersonii , in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum ; open forest, in decayed leaf litter under Pityrogramma calomelos . Isla Floreana: littoral zone, peninsula south of Black Beach, in crevice; in leaf litter under Cryptocarpus pyriformis ; arid zone, above Black Beach, around Dr RITTER’S grave, in decayed leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus under Pisonia floribunda and Castela galapageia ; agricultural area, highland north of Cerro Pajas, in rotting wood and humus under dead Psidium guajava ; trail to finca, in decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood under Kalanchoe pinnata and Croton scouleri ; near spring at Asilo de la Paz and near buccaneer caves, in well-decayed leaf litter under Datura stramonion and Lantana camara ; Moist highland, northeastern base of Cerro Pajas, in well-decayed leaf litter under Acacia sp. and Croton scouleri . Isla Gardner: near Espanola, littoral zone, northern coast, in partially-decayed leaf litter under Sesuvium portulacastrum . Isla Isabela: V. Wolf, upper arid ( Psychotria ) zone, western side, Psidium galapageium forest with Zanthoxylum fagara , Tournefortia sp. , Cordia lutea , Macraea laricifolia , in decayed leaf litter and humus; moist zone northeastern slope, open woodland of Scalesia microcephala , Trema micrantha and Pisonia fioribunda , in grass and leaf litter under Tournefortia rufosericea ; along eastern crater rim, in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum and Ipomoea sp. ; along southern crater rim, under Cyathea weatherbyana , in moss from rocks and humus; inside small crater near fumarole, in fern litter, in moss and roots; elfin forest inside the main crater, near sulphu rous fumaroles, dense Croton forest with Tournefortia rufosericea , Zanthoxylum fagara , Scalesia microcephala , in decayed leaf litter; inside small crater near fumarole, dense forest of Psychotria rufipes and Scalesia microcephala , in partially-decayed leaf litter and humus; V. Sierra Negra, arid zone, near Quinta Playa, open forest of Scalesia cordata and Pisonia floribunda , in partially-decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood; north of Puerto Villamil, in decaying wood under Prosopis juliflora ; transition zone, north of Quinta Playa, dense forest with Scalesia cordata , Tournefortia pubescens , Sapindus saponaria , 200-230 m, in litter and humus on a dead trunk with Peperomia sp. Isla Pinta: moist zone, eastern slope of the main crater, dense forest of Zantoxylum fagara and Pisonia floribunda , in deeper soil layers, among roots; at summit near the main crater, in decayed fern litter with roots and humus under uppermost layer, under Pteridium aqulinum . Isla Pinzón: lower arid zone, eastern part, near islote, in decaying wood and leaf litter under Prosopis juliflora ; eastern part, in leaf litter under Croton scouleri , and Cordia lutea ; in litter under Sesuvium portulacastrum ; upper arid zone, Central valley, several sites, in decayed cactus litter under Opuntia echios var. macrocarpa ; in grass litter; in decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood under Acacia macracantha , Croton scouleri , Scalesia incisa , Alternanthera filifolia , A. echinocephala , Prosopis juliflora , Tournefortia pubescens ; moist zone, southern crater rim of main caldera, in decayed leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus under Scalesia incisa , Croton scouleri , Lantana peduncularis , Zanthoxylum fagara ; above crater, in decayed leaf litter under Sesuvium portulacastrum ; in partially decayed fern litter and humus; in moss on Zanthoxylum fagara ; southern slope of the island near big rocks, in decayed leaf litter and well developed humus under Cordia leucophlyctis , Croton scouleri , Alternanthera echinocephala ; fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum and Peperomia petiolata . Isla Plaza Sur: arid zone, near landing area, in decayed leaf litter with cactus litter and humus under dead Opuntia echios var. echios and Maytenus octogona . Isla Rabida, arid zone, above lagoon in small valley, Bursera graveolens forest with Cordia lutea and Croton scouleri , in partially-decayed grass litter. Isla San Cristóbal: arid zone, south of Wreck Bay, in decayed leaf litter and humus under Parkinsonia aculeata ; moist zone, around lake EI Junco, in decayed leaf litter, moss, roots and humus under Miconia robinsoniana ; San Joaquin, in well-decayed leaf litter and roots under Cyathea weatherbyana . Isla Santa Cruz: littoral zone, Puerto Ayora , near Charles Darwin Research Station, in leaf litter under Maytenus octogana ; in mangrove leaves under Conocarpus erecta and Avicennia germinans ; arid zone, north of Research Station, at barranco, in leaf litter and humus under Tournef ortia pubescens , Acacia rorudiana , Scutia pauciflora ; between Puerto Ayora and Bellavista, in decayed leaf litter and humus under Tournefortia pubescens , Croton scouleri , Piscidia carthagenensis , Pisonia floribunda , in well-decayed cactus litter under Opuntia echios var. gigantea ; northern part of the island, in deeper litter and humus under rocks under Pisonia floribunda ; transition zone, around Caseta, in grass and leaf litter under Psidium galapageium ; northern part of the island near Los Gemelos, in decaying wood and humus under Pisonia floribunda and Alternanthera filifolia ; agricultural area, near Cerro Chato, in decayed grass litter of Pennisetum purpureum ; in leaf litter under Zanthoxylum fagara ; near Santa Rosa, in grass litter in pasture, moist zones: Scalesia zone , in Scalesia pedunculata forest around Los Gemelos, in decayed leaf, fern, and grass litter; Scalesia forest near Cerro Crocker, in leaf litter, partially with moss and roots; Miconia zone , near Media Luna, in moist leaf and fern litter, partially with moss under Miconia robinsoniana and Pteridium aquilinum ; small valley west of Cerro Crocker, in moist patches of Sphagnum ; Puntudo, in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum ; in leaf litter under Cinchona succirubra and Furcraea cubensis ; around summit, 860 m, in decayed leaf and fern litter under Cyathea weatherbyana with Peperomia galapagensis . Isla Santiago: littoral zone, around lagoon of Playa Espumilla, in partially-decayed mangrove leaf litter under Conocarpus erecta ; lower arid zone, at spring below Pan de Azucar, in decayed leaf litter under Clerodendron molle and Heliotropium angiospermium ; upper arid zone, western side, trail between Playa Espumilla and Los Aguacates, in leaf litter under Bursera graveolens and Acacia occidentalis . Isla Seymour Norte: littoral zone, southeast corner of the island, near beach, in leaf litter under Cryptocarpus pyriformis .

References: Schatz (1998): 382; Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999): 70-75.