NEW FAUNISTIC DATA ON ORIBATID MITES (ACARI, ORIBATIDA) INHABITING THE SOIL AND TERMITE NESTS IN THE FRANKLIN GAME RESERVE, BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA

The present study is based on oribatid mite material collected from the soil and nests of the termite, Trinerv-itermes trinervoides (Isoptera, Termitidae) of the Franklin Game Reserve in South Africa. A list of identified taxa is presented and it includes 47 species belonging to 34 genera and 19 families. The species Phauloppia rauschenensis, the subgenus Lanceoppia (Baioppia) and the genus Phauloppia are recorded from the Ethiopian Region for the first time, while the genus Oribatula is new to southern Africa. A faunistic comparison of the mites from the soil and termite nests shows a lower abundance, but a higher species richness in the soil than in the nests. Soil samples contain dominant species (Zygoribatula contracta, Hypozetes andreii, Licnodamaeus sacculatus, Tectocepheus velatus sarekensis), which are absent from nest samples, while dominant species in the latter (Ausoribula bloemfonteinensis, Transoribates agricola, Bipassalozetes bidactylus, Coetzeella navalensis) are different from those in the soil samples. One species, Oribatula franklinensis sp. n. (Oribatulidae), is described. It differs from all species of the genus by the presence of very long notogastral porose areas Aa. An identification key to Oribatula species known from the Ethiopian Region is given.