Berlesezetes ornatissimus (Berlese, 1913)

Revelo-Tobar, Harol, 2022, Checklist of Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) of Ecuador, Zootaxa 5210 (1), pp. 1-96 : 38-39

Berlesezetes ornatissimus (Berlese, 1913)

Berlesezetes auxiliaris: Schatz (1998) ; Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999); Schatz (2006).

Distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Records in Ecuador: Galápagos (Islas: Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Pinta, Pinzón, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santiago).

Habitat: Isla Bartolome: littoral zone mangroves near Pinnacle rock, in leaf litter under Maytenus octogona . Isla Fernandina: moist zon, western part of the island, in decayed leaf litter under Zanthoxylum fagara and Psychotria rufipes ; in grass litter under Cyperus andersonii ; in decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri and Darwiniothamnus tenuifolius ; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum and Pityrograma camomelos; pampa with Carex sp. on crater rim, in grass and fern litter; fumarole on western part of the crater rim, dripping-wet pads of moss. Isla Floreana, littoral zone, Punta Cormoran , at lagoon, in well-decayed leaf litter under Avicennia germinans ; arid zone, above Black beach, near Dr RITIER’S grave, in litter and humus under Acacia sp. ; agricultural area, highland north of Cerro Pajas, in decaying wood and humus under dead Psidium guajava ; near trail to finca, in decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood under Kalanchoe pinnata and Croton scouleri ; near Asilo de la Paz, in crevice near buccaneer caves, in well-decayed leaf litter with roots and humus under Lantana camara ; moist highland, at base of Cerro Pajas, in well-decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri ; on crater rim of Cerro Pajas, in decayed leaf litter under Scalesia pedunculata and Zanthoxylum fagara . 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; V. Alcedo, moist zone, along southern and eastern crater rim, in decayed fern litter and humus under Pteridium aquilinum and Ipomoea sp. ; inside crater near fumarole; in fern litter under Polypodium sp. and in moss on rocks; elfin forest on northeastern slope, open woodland of Scalesia microcephala , Trema micrantha , Pisonia floribunda , Tournefortia rufosericea , in leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus; in dense grass; elfin forest inside of the main crater, near sulphurous fumaroles, dense Croton scouleri forest with Tournefortia rufosericea , Zanthoxylum fagara , Scalesia microcephala ,, in decayed leaf litter of deeper layer; inside small crater near fumarole, dense forest of Psychotria rufipes and Scalesia microcephala , in partially decayed leaf litter and humus; western crater rim, dense forest, in decayed leaf litter and humus under dead trunk; V. Sierra Negra, arid zone, near Quinta Playa at Porvenir, open forest of Pisonia fioribunda and Acacia rorudiana , in partially decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood, in decaying wood; north of Puerto Villamil, in decaying wood under Prosopis juliflora ; agricultural area, above S. Tomas, in decayed leaf litter under Inga edulis, Citrus limetta, Coffea arabica , Persea americana , Psidium guajava ; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum ; transition zone, north of Quinta Playa, dense forest with Scalesia cordata , Zanthoxylum fagara , Sapindus saponaria , Tournefortia pubescens , in decayed leaf litter with decaying pieces of wood and humus, in moss from trees and barks, on a dead trunk with Peperomia sp. , in fern litter; pasture/Pampa, southwestern crater rim, forest of Psidium guajava , decaying wood and black humus under fallen log. V. Cerro Azul, southwestern part, dry forest, in thick litter layer under Acacia sp. Isla Pinzon: lower arid zone, eastern part, above islote, in partially-decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri and Cordia lutea ; on decaying wood from bark from Prosopis juliflora , upper arid zone, central valley, in decayed cactus litter under Opuntia echios var. macrocarpa ; in grass litter; in litter and humus under Lantana peduncularis , Acacia macracantha , Croton scouleri , moist zone, southern crater rim of main caldera, in well-decayed leaf litter under Cordia lutea ; summit, in grass litter and in partially decayed fern litter; southern slope of the island near big rocks, in decayed leaf litter and black humus under Cordia leucophlyctis , Croton scouleri , Alternanthera echinocephala . Isla Pinta, moist zone, eastern slope of the main crater, dense forest of Zantoxylum fagara and Pisonia floribunda , partially decayed leaf litter and humus; in deeper soil layers, among roots; on summit near the main crater, in decayed fern litter with roots and humus under upper most layer, under Pteridium aquilinum . Isla San Cristobal: arid zone, near electric power plant above Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, in leaf and grass litter under Parkinsonia aculeata and Pennisetum sp. ; agricultural area, near El Progreso, in well decayed leaf litter under Psidium guajava , Persea americana , Eugenia jambos ; moist zone, around lake El Junco, in decayed leaf litter, moss, and humus, in decaying wood and among roots under Miconia robinsoniana and Psidium guayava ; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum ; pasture around lake, in grass and herb litter in Paspalum galapageium , Cyperus brevifolius , Commelina diffusa ; small river southeast of lake, in well-decayed leaf litter under Miconia robinsoniana and Pteridium aquilinum . Isla Santa Cruz: arid zone, near Charles Darwin Research Station, in well-decayed leaf litter under Hippomane manzinella ; north of station, at barranco, in leaf litter under Tournefortia pubescens , Psidium galapageium ; between Puerto Ayora and Bellavista, dry forest of Croton scouleri , Piscidia carthagenensis , Zanthoxylum fagara , Tournefortia spp. , in decayed leaf litter and humus; transition zone, near Cerro Chato, in decayed leaf litter and humus under Tournefortia pubescens and Zanthoxylum fagara ; agricultural area, in decayed grass litter of Pennisetum purpureum ; below Santa Rosa, in decayed leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus under Cedrela odorata ; moist zones, Scalesia zone , in Scalesia pedunculata forest around Los Gemelos, in decayed leaf and grass litter; in leaf litter under Darwiniothamnus tenuifolius ; in roots and leaf litter of epiphytic Peperomia galapagensis ; Scalesia forest near Cerro Crocker, in leaf litter, partially with moss, pieces of wood, and roots; fern-sedge zone, below Cerro Crocker near Scalesia forest , in wet, decayed leaf and fern litter. Isla Santa Fe: arid zone northeastern part, behind sea-lion beach, very dry leaf litter under Croton scouleri . Isla Santiago: littoral zone, around lagoon of Playa Espumilla, in partially-decayed mangrove leaf litter under Conocarpus erecta . upper arid zone, western side, beside trail between Playa Espumilla and Los Aguacates, in leaf litter under Bursera graveolens and Acacia oecidentalis .

References: Schatz (1998): 382; Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999): 77-79; Schatz (2006): 233.