Heptacarus encantadae Schatz, 1994

Revelo-Tobar, Harol, 2022, Checklist of Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) of Ecuador, Zootaxa 5210 (1), pp. 1-96 : 9-10

Heptacarus encantadae Schatz, 1994

Distribution: Ecuador.

Records in Ecuador: Galápagos (Islas: Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Española, Floreana, Rábida, Bartolomé, Genovesa, Fernandina, Seymour Norte, Pinzón, Santiago).

Habitat: Litoral zone: Among algae and mangrove litter. Isla Santa Cruz: dry zone along road to Bella Vista near Tuneles, in moist, decayed cactus litter of a dead Opuntia echios var. gigantea ; transition zone at tortoise pond near Caseta, leaf litter under Hippomane manzinella ; in old excrement of a giant tortoise; in dry lichens on dead Psidium galapageium ; Scalesia forest near Cerro Crocker, in moist leaf litter under Scalesia pedunculata and Pteridium aquilinum . Isla Seymour Norte: dry zone in the interior of the island, dry litter and humus under Bursera malacophylla and Cryptocarpus pyriformis . Isla Pinzón: lower dry zone, moist, decayed pieces of wood and humus under Croton scouleri and Acacia macracantha . Isla San Cristobal: Miconia zone around Lake EI Junco, in moist moss and rotten wood. Isla Floreana: cultivated highland below Asilo de la Paz, decayed leaf litter under Lantana camara ; moist highland around Asilo de la Paz, moist leaf litter and humus under Croton scouleri . Isla Santiago: Sullivan Bay, dry zone, dry litter with pieces of wood.

References: Schatz (1994a): 271-276; Schatz (1998): 381.