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First record of Litarachna caribica (Acari, Pontarachnidae) from the Pacific coast of Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2015

Vladimir Pešić ,
Tapas Chatterjee  and
Nikolaos V. Schizas
Vladimir Pešić*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
Tapas Chatterjee
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Indian School of Learning, I.S.M. Annexe, P.O. – I.S.M., Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, India
Nikolaos V. Schizas
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Call Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00681, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: V. Pešić, Department of Biology, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro Email: vladopesic@gmail.com
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Abstract

We documented the existence of a population of the southern Caribbean pontarachnid mite Litarachna caribica for the first time on the Pacific coast of Panama. Based on morphological observations, this is the first record of a pontarachnid mite with a trans-isthmian distribution, which can be explained by either modern biological dispersal or historical vicariance hypotheses. Litarachna caribica had either passed through the Panama Canal, successfully colonizing the opposite coast, or previously continuously distributed populations had become disjunct after the rise of the Central American land.

Keywords

water mitesnew recordtrans-isthmian distributionrange expansion

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 8 , 2015 , e85
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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References

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