EGE 12TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON APPLIED SCIENCES
ZERCONID MITES (ACARI: ZERCONIDAE) RECORDED FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, TÜRKİYE
Yayıncı:
Academy Global Publishing House
The soil mites belonging to the family Zerconidae are called zerconids as shortly. The distribution records of this microscopic living group are known only from the Holarctic region. There are many studies on the systematics of this group in some regions, including our country. According to the systematic studies conducted to date, zerconids, represented by approximately 500 species in the Northern Hemisphere, have been reported from Türkiye with two different genera (Prozercon and Zercon) and a total of 140 species. However, due to the large surface area of our country, there are many regions where zerconids have not yet been studied. In this study, all species of zerconids evaluated within the order Mesostigmata recorded from the Mediterranean Region in the south of our country were reviewed. According to the literature review, it was determined that 20 different zerconid species were distributed in the region. Of these, 4 species belong to the genus Prozercon and 16 species belong to the genus Zercon. 12 of the mentioned species are endemic to Türkiye and seven of them have been defined as new species for the science from the Mediterranean Region. The type localities (terra typica) of these species are Adana, Burdur and Mersin provinces located in the region. In addition, country and world distributions of all recorded zerconids from the region is presented with current literature. This study is aimed to contribute to both the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Region and the acarofauna of our country.
