Zootaxa 3663 (1): 001–102 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Monograph ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN1175-5334(online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3663.1.1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:187DB7EF-6C14-4858-867A-A1E15E50ED7E ZOOTAXA 3663 Hotspots of new species discovery: new mite species described during 2007 to 2012 DONG LIU 1, TIAN-CI YI2, YUN XU3 & ZHI-QIANG ZHANG4, 5 1Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130012, P. R. China 2The Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Pest Management in Mountainous Region Guiyang 550025, P. R. China; and Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, P. R. China 3 Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, China & College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P. R. China 4Landcare Research, 231 Morrin Road, Auckland, New Zealand; 5 Corresponding author; email: [email protected] Magnolia Press Auckland, New Zealand Accepted by Owen Seeman: 14 May 2013; published: 22 May 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 DONG LIU, TIAN-CI YI, YUN XU & ZHI-QIANG ZHANG Hotspots of new species discovery: new mite species described during 2007 to 2012 (Zootaxa 3663) 102 pp.; 30 cm. 22 May 2013 ISBN 978-1-77557-180-3 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-77557-181-0 (Online edition) FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2013 BY Magnolia Press P.O. Box 41-383 Auckland 1346 New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5326 (Print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (Online edition) 2 · Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press LIU ET AL. Table of contents Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Abbreviations of zoological collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Results & Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 General patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 The numbers of papers and new species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Taxonomic distribution of new species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Geographic distribution of new species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 List of type localities and depositories of new species in SAA 2007–2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Superorder Parasitiformes (6 species). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Order Mesostigmata (6 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Suborder Monogynaspida (3 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Suborder Trigynaspida (3 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Superorder Acariformes (110 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Order Trombidiformes (79 species). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Suborder Prostigmata (79 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Order Sarcoptiformes (31 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Suborder Oribatida (31 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 List of type localities and depositories of new species in Zootaxa 2007–2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Superorder Parasitiformes (272 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Order Opilioacarida (9 species). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Order Mesostigmata (263 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Suborder Trigynaspida (36 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Suborder Monogynaspida (229 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Superorder Acariformes (991 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Order Trombidiformes (713 species). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Suborder Prostigmata (713 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Order Sarcoptiformes (278 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Suborder Oribatida (278 species) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Abstract The type localities of new mite species described in two journals (Systematic & Applied Acarology and Zootaxa) during the last six years (2007–2012) were surveyed to detect hotspots of new mite species discovery. Among the 642 papers examined, 71% of them contain new species, with 148 new species in 2007, 207 in 2008, 234 in 2009, 208 in 2010, 333 in 2011 and 249 in 2012. Systematic & Applied Acarology published about 3% of the total new species indexed by Zoological Record during 2007–2012, whereas Zootaxa published about 35% of the total. The 1379 new species are distributed unevenly among 150 mite families; the top 15 families accounted for 55% of all the species, and 86 of the 150 families have 1–3 species each. The top family is the Eriophyidae, which alone accounted for nearly 15% of the total new species. Geographically, the new species were described from 92 countries and their distribution among these countries is highly uneven. The top 10 countries accounted for 62% of all the new species and the top country, China, alone accounted for 18% of the total. The average number of new species per country is 15 and no more than a fifth of the countries are above the average, and 40% of the countries have only 1–3 new species each. The top country for each continent is China (248 species) for Asia, Australia (166 species) for Oceania, Brazil (76 species) for South America, Kenya (51 species) for Africa, USA (51 species) for North America and Russia (42 species) for Europe. Increased efforts in discovering and describing new species are much needed for biodiversity-rich countries in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Key words: Acari, new species, biodiversity, hotspots, taxonomy, mites, type locality, type depository HOTSPOTS OF NEW MITE SPECIES DISCOVERY Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press · 3 Introduction Over 1.5 million species of animals have been described and every year some 15,000 or more species are named (Zhang 2011a, c, e). Species are unevenly distributed in the world and the 17 megadiverse countries have far more species than others (Mittermeier 1988). Where are new species discovered and described? In this paper, we answer this question for recent years by surveying new mite species described in the last six years. We selected the Acari because it is a very diverse group in the Phylum Arthropoda, now with over 55,000 described species (Zhang 2011d). Another objective of this paper is to provide a list of new species of mites published in Zootaxa and Systematic & Applied Acarology and make the information on the type locality and deposition available online for open access to ensure wide dissemination as recommended by ICZN (1999). This contribution follows a series of other editorials with the same purpose to expose new species to a wider readership (Zhang 2006; Fan 2006; Zhao 2007; Xue & Zhang 2008, Xu et al. 2013). Methods To detect hot spots of new mite species discovery in recent years, we surveyed type localities of new species described in the last six years (2007–2012). We sampled papers published in two international journals during this period. One is Systematic & Applied Acarology (SAA)—an average-sized journal specialized in acarology, with most papers on taxonomy (Zhang 2005). Another is Zootaxa—the world’s largest journal in taxonomy, describing about 20% of all animal taxa indexed in the Zoological Record in 2010, of which 5% were mites (Zhang 2011a). These two journals are selected because they have excellent historical data on the number of new species (Zhang 2005, 2011a; Fan 2006; Xue & Zhang 2008) and are both easily accessible and familiar to the authors. The classification systems used for the list of new species follow the most recent ones in Beaulieu et al. (2011), Schatz et al. (2011), Walter et al. (2011), Zhang (2011d) and Zhang et al. (2011). For each new species listed, we provide genus and species name, authority and year, the page on which the new species was first described, the depository of the primary type specimen and also the type locality (geographic coordinates given if these are provided in the original papers). Abbreviations for zoological collections are those used in the original papers. For those institutions without abbreviations given in the original papers, we first use abbreviations cited in papers elsewhere and we coin new ones when no previous uses of abbreviations for these institutions are known to us. Abbreviations of zoological collections: ACIAU—Acarology Collection, Islamic Azad University, Fars Science and Research Branch, Marvdasht, Iran. AFUMI—Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Iran. AINB—Acari collections of INBio, Insitituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica. AMS—Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia. ń AMU—Department of Animal Morphology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Pozna , Poland. ANIC—Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australia ASCU—Agricultural Scientific Collection Unit, Orange Agricultural Institute, Forest Road, Orange, New South Wales, Australia. AUET—Zoological Museum of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. BASU—Collection of Acarology Laboratory, University of Bu-Ali Sina, Hamadan, Iran. BBM—Bishop Museum, Hawaii, USA. BMSA—National Museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa. CAS—California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA. CBGP—Collection of the Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France. CM—Chilean Museum (Museo de Historia Natural, section of entomology), Chile. CNAC—Colección Nacional de Ácaros del Instituto de Biología, Mexico. CNC—Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4 · Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press LIU ET AL. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. CUBS—Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. CUI—The Division of Acarology of the Department of Zoology, Calicut University, India. CUMN—Acari collection of the Chulalongkorn University Museum of Natural History, Bangkok, Thailand. ń DATE—Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Pozna , Poland. DiBCA-EZUB—Dipartimento di Biologia e Chimica Agro-forestale e Ambientale (DiBCA), Entomological and Zoological Section, University of Bari, Italy. DEKU—Department of Entomology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. DECU—Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. DFIB—Collection of Laboratório de Quarentena Vegetal, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasilia, Distrito Federal and of Instituto Biológico, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. DZPU—Department of Zoology of Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. EDPCQ—Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai province, P. R. China. EMBT—Department of Agriculture, Entomology & Zoology Division, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand. EPCL—Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China. ERGB—Collection of Laboratório de Quarentena Vegetal, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil. ESALQ/USP—Collection of Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, ESALQ – Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. EUKT—Acarological Collection of the Zoological Museum, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. FAAS—Institute of Plant Protection Collection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, P. R. China. FCPT—Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinopolis, Spain. FFSDU—Fundamental Science Laboratory collection, Faculty of Fisheries, Süleyman Demirel University, Egirdir/ Isparta, Turkey. FM—Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA. FSCA—Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, USA. FUET—Research collection of the Biology Department, Fırat University, Elazig, Turkey. GMNH—Georgia Museum of Natural History, Natural History Building, University of Georgia, Athens, USA. GUGC—Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang, P. R. China. GUGX—Guangxi University, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomic Region, P. R. China. HNHM—Soil Zoology Collection of Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary. HUB—Museum of Natural History, Department of Arachnids, Myriapods and Stemgroup Arthropoda, Humboldt- University Berlin, Germany. HUHC—Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei Province, P. R. China. IARI—National Pusa Collection, Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. IBIW—Research collection of the Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Borok, Russia. IBSS—Research collection of the Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Vladivostok, Russia. ICIPE—The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya. INBCR—Instituto Nacional Biologica of Costa Rica, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica. IPCB—Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. IZSAS—Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak. JAZM—Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Iran. KSMA—King Saud Museum of Arthropods, Saudi Arabia. LA-CEIB—Laboratório de Acarologia, Centro Experimental do Instituto Biológico, Campinas-SP, Brazil. LCCV—Laboratorio Central de Cuarentena Vegetal de Cuba. LSUMZ—Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology, Louisiana, USA. MGS—Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Genève, Switzerland. MHN—“Museo de Historia Natural”, Lima, Peru. MMP—Museum of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro. MNCN—Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain. HOTSPOTS OF NEW MITE SPECIES DISCOVERY Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press · 5 MNHN—Muséum National d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France. MNHP—Museum of the Natural History of Podgorica, Montenegro. MNHWU—Museum of Natural History, Wrocław University, Poland. MNZ—Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand MVMA—Department of Entomology, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. MZBB—Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Bogor, Indonesia. MZLQ—Mite Reference Collection, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Brazil. MZSP—Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. MZUNAV—Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra, Spain. NBG—Collection of the Nikita Botanical Gardens–National Scientific Center, Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine. NCA-PPRI—National Collection of Arachnida, PPRI, Pretoria, South Africa. NHMB—Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Sweden. NHMG—Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland. NHM—Natural History Museum, London, UK. NHRS—Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm, Sweden. NIOGI—Museum of Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India. NJAU—Arthropod/Mite Collection of the Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China. NMBS—Acarology collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa. NMNH—National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution, USA. NMNS—National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan. NMV—Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. NSCY—National Scientific Center, Yalta, Ukraine. NSMT—Collection of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan. NTM—Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia. NUMU—Department of Zoology, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. NZAC—New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand. NZMC—National Zoological Museum of China, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China. OSAL—Ohio State University Acarology Collection, Columbus, USA. OSU—Museum of Biological Diversity, the Ohio State University, USA. PEU—Acari Collection of Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica (DZSJRP), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), campus de São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. PPRP—ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa. QM—Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia. RBNS—Collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium. RMNH—National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, The Netherlands. SAMA—South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia. SBUC—Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran. SMF—Senckenberg-Museum Frankfurt, Germany. SMNG—Acarological Collection of Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz, Germany. SNMB—Slovak National Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia SNMNH—Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA. SPSU—Collection of the Laboratory of Phytoacarology (Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological and Soil Sciences Faculty, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia). SUI—Department of Plant Protection, Shiraz University, Iran. TMAG—Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Australia. TMU—Acarological Collection, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. UASM—University of Alberta Strickland Museum, Edmonton, Canada. UAT—Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural Faculty, University of Ankara, Turkey. 6 · Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press LIU ET AL. UBS—Acarology collection, Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Serbia. UEP—Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, State of São Paulo, Brazil. UFRP—Collection of the Laboratório de Acarologia, Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil. UKK—Biosystematics Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani 741235, West Bengal, India. UMI—Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran. UMMZ—Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, USA. UNAM—Acarology Collection of the Universidad Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. UNESP—Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São José do Rio Preto, State of São Paulo, Brazil. UPLB—Entomological Museum, Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños. USNM—United States Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C, USA. USPB—“Museu de Zoologia Luiz de Queiroz” at the Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. UTI—Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. UTKI—Acarological Collection, Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. WAM—Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia. ZIRAS—Collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. ZISP—Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. ZIZMUH—Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum (formerly: Zoologisches Institut und Museum der Universität Hamburg), Hamburg, Germany. ZMAN—Zoological Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ZMAU—Zoological Museum of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. ZMH—Zoological Museum in Hamburg, Germany. ZMJU—Zoological Museum of the Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland. ZSM—Zoologische Staatssamlung Munich, Germany. Results & Discussion General patterns The numbers of papers and new species. SAA published 225 papers during 2007–2012, with an average of 37.5 per year, which is 37% higher than that during its first decade 1996–2005 (27.3 per year according to Zhang 2005). The increased number of papers in SAA during this period is mainly a reflection of (1) the increased frequency of the journal, which allows more pages per year (Zhang 2008a) and (2) is also due to improved reputation of the journal as reflected by its recent coverage in Science Citation Index Expanded (Zhang 2011b). Among the papers published in SAA during 2007–2012, 39% of them contain new species descriptions, with an average of 1.3 new species per paper. This is comparable to that in SAA papers published during 1996–2007 (41% of taxonomic papers with new taxa; Xue & Zhang 2008). SAA published a total of 116 new species during 2007– 2012 (Table 1). The average of number of new species per year during this period (19) is also comparable to that during 1996–2005 (18 new species per year; Zhang 2005). Zootaxa published 417 papers on the Acari during 2007–2012, with an average of 69.5 per year, which is a 262% increase over its first five years 2001–2005 (19.2 per year according to Fan 2006). Zootaxa is purely a taxonomic journal and 88% of the 417 papers on the Acari during 2007–2012 contain a total of 1263 new species, with an average of 3.4 new species per paper (Table 1). The average of number of new species per year during this period (210) is over 500% of that during 2001–2005 (37 new species per year; Fan 2006), a reflection of the significant increase in the volume of Zootaxa after its inclusion in Science Citation Index Expanded in 2004 (Zhang 2008b, 2011a). HOTSPOTS OF NEW MITE SPECIES DISCOVERY Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press · 7 TABLE 1. The number of new species described in Systematic & Applied Acarology and Zootaxa during 2007–2012, with comparison to total numbers of new species of mites indexed in Zoological Record. Year SAA Zootaxa Total Total indexed in ZR* 2007 17 131 148 525 2008 12 195 207 593 2009 12 222 234 670 2010 17 191 208 571 2011 28 305 333 628 2012 30 219 249 597** Total 116 1263 1379 3584** *Data from Zoological Record based on summaries of new names in http://organismnames.com/ (accessed: 14 Apr. 2013). ** 467 (in the database as of 14 Apr. 2013) for 2012 is an underestimate because not all papers published in 2012 have been indexed. 597 used here is the average from the last five years and is here used as an estimated value for 2012). During 2007–2012, SAA—an average acarology journal—published about 3% of the total new mite species indexed by Zoological Record, whereas Zootaxa—a mega-journal in taxonomy—published about 35% of the total (Table 1). Thus patterns—such as geographic distribution of newly described species—revealed in this study are very good estimates due the facts that these two sampled journals cover a very large share of the total and both journals are international in nature without required fee for publication (relatively unbiased submissions from authors around the world). Taxonomic distribution of new species. At the order level, the distribution of new species from SAA and Zootaxa during 2007–2012 is highly uneven, with the order Trombidiformes accounting for 57.4% of the total (Table 2). At the family level, the 1379 new species are distributed among 150 mite families (Table 3) and this distribution is also very uneven, with the top 15 families accounting for 55% of all the species, and 86 of the 150 families have 1–3 species (Table 3A). The top family is the Eriophyidae, which alone accounted for nearly 15% of the total. Fan (2006)’s survey of new mite species in Zootaxa 2001–2005 also revealed highly uneven distribution of new species among families, with the Eriophyidae accounting for 29% of the total new species. For comparison, the top 10 families in terms of the total number of described species are: Eriophyidae (3790 spp.), Trombiculidae (3100 spp), Phytoseiidae (2300 spp.), Laelapidae (1316 spp.), Tetranychidae (1270 spp.), Halacaridae (1118 spp.), Oppiidae (1045 spp), Arrenuridae (950 spp.), Tenuipalpidae (895 spp.) and Phthiracaridae (817 spp.)—Table 3B. The Eriophyidae is the largest family, which is also economically important and studied by several active groups in the last decade or so (Table 3B). The second-ranked family in terms of the number of new species described in the last six years—Phytoseiidae—is also an economically important family; it is the third in rank in terms of total described species. However, economically important families such as Tetranychidae and Laelapidae—although also relatively diverse (making top 5 in the total number of species)—have not attracted as much attention as the Eriophyidae and Phytoseiidae in recent years (Table 3A, B). Likewise, families such as Tenuipalpidae and Tarsonemidae—both relatively important in agriculture and also relatively diverse—deserve more taxonomic effort. TABLE2. Taxonomic distribution of new species from SAA and Zootaxa (2007–2012) among mite orders. Mite orders SAA Zootaxa Total (% of all mites) Holothyrida 0 0 0 Ixodida 0 0 0 Opilioacarida 0 9 9 (0.6%) Mesostigmata 6 263 269 (19.5%) Trombidiformes 79 713 792 (57.4%) Sarcoptiformes 31 278 309 (22.4%) 8 · Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press LIU ET AL. TABLE 3A. Taxonomic distribution of new species from SAA and Zootaxa (2007–2012) among mite families; n =number of new species within each paper, N =number of families with n species. sp fam sp n N Families of mites sp fam 204 1 Eriophyidae 103 1 Phytoseiidae 68 1 Syringophilidae 48 1 Diptilomiopidae 44 1 Aturidae 39 1 Hygrobatidae 36 1 Cunaxidae 35 1 Arrenuridae 32 1 Torrenticolidae 29 1 Proctophyllodidae 28 1 Crotoniidae 26 1 Anisitsiellidae 24 1 Tenuipalpidae 23 2 Phthiracaridae, Cymbaeremaeidae 21 2 Uropodidae, Erythraeidae 20 1 Stigmaeidae 19 2 Eviphididae, Trombiculidae 18 2 Zerconidae, Oribatellidae 16 1 Hermanniidae 15 1 Gastronyssidae 14 3 Klinckowstroemiidae, Laelapidae, Chirodiscidae 13 1 Ascidae 12 5 Fedrizziidae, Sperchontidae, Tetranychidae, Euphthiracaridae, Oppiidae 11 1 Feltriidae 10 2 Eremaeozetidae, Galumnidae 9 1 Opilioacaridae 8 7 Diplogyniidae, Rhagidiidae, Unionicolidae, Cheyletidae, Podapolipidae, Nothridae, Damaeidae 7 3 Halacaridae, Camerobiidae, Carabodidae 6 4 Bdellidae, Hydrodromidae, Limnesiidae, Peloppiidae 5 7 Veigaiidae, Pachylaelapidae, Phytoptidae, Adamystidae, Allotanaupodidae, Tarsonemidae, Nippobodidae 4 6 Blattisociidae, Trombidiidae, Pontarachnidae, Lohmanniidae, Oribotritiidae, Astegistidae 3 11 Urodinychidae, Penthalodidae, Microtrombidiidae, Hydryphantidae, Myobiidae, Pterygosomatidae, Linotetranidae, Neopygmephoridae, Hypochthoniidae, Microzetidae, Listrophoridae, 2 29 Paramegistidae, Dinychidae, Rotundabaloghiidae, Trachytidae, Trematuridae, Ologamasidae, Rhodacaridae, Ameroseiidae, Melicharidae, Halolaelapidae, Podocinidae, Neothrombiidae, Hydrachnidae, Momoniidae, Mideopsidae, Pyemotidae, Pygmephoridae, Phyllochthoniidae, Mesoplophoridae, Protoplophoridae, Synichotritiidae, Licnodamaeidae, Ameridae, Adhaesozetidae, Unduloribatidae, Galumnellidae, Algophagidae, Atopomelidae, Dermationidae ...... continued on the next page HOTSPOTS OF NEW MITE SPECIES DISCOVERY Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press · 9 TABLE 3A. (Continued) n N Families of mites sp fam 1 46 Philodanidae, Metagynuridae, Trigonuropodidae, Epicriidae, Coprozerconidae, Parasitidae, Otopheidomenidae, Macronyssidae, Epilohmanniidae, Chyzeriidae, Leeuwenhoekiidae, Achaemenothrombiidae, Teratothyadidae, Lebertiidae, Athienemanniidae, Chappuisididae, Caligonellidae, Raphignathidae, Barbutiidae, Cryptognathidae, Caraboacaridae, Scutacaridae Calyptostomatidae, Trochometridiidae, Trhypochthoniidae, Hermanniellidae, Liacaridae, Otocepheidae, Cepheidae, Machuellidae, Autognetidae, Fortuyniidae, Scutoverticidae, Oribatulidae, Zetomotrichidae, Mochlozetidae, Haplozetidae, Parakalummidae, Ceratozetidae, Winterschmidtiidae, Euglycyphagidae, Pterolichidae, Pteronyssidae, Xolalgidae, Teutonidae TABLE 3B. Systematic list of the number of new species from SAA and Zootaxa during 2007–2012 (N ) in sp.n—2007–2012 comparison to total number of species known in the world (N ) according to Beaulieu et al. (2011), Schatz et al. total-2011 (2011), Walter et al. (2011), Zhang (2011d) and Zhang et al. (2011) Taxa N N sp.n—2007–2012 total-2011 Superorder Parasitiformes Order Opilioacarida Superfamily Opilioacaroidea Family Opilioacaridae 9 35 Order Mesostigmata Suborder Trigynaspida Infraorder Antennophorina Superfamily Celaenopsoidea Family Diplogyniidae 8 85 Superfamily Fedrizzioidea Family Fedrizziidae 12 34 Family Klinckowstroemiidae 14 36 Superfamily Parantennuloidea Family Philodanidae 1 2 Superfamily Paramegistoidea Family Paramegistidae 2 30 Suborder Monogynaspida Infraorder Uropodina Superfamily Uropodoidea Family Dinychidae 2 3 Family Metagynuridae 1 17 Family Rotundabaloghiidae 2 165 Family Trachytidae 2 108 Family Trematuridae 2 401 Family Trigonuropodidae 1 87 Family Urodinychidae 3 267 Family Uropodidae 21 261 ...... continued on the next page 10 · Zootaxa 3663 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press LIU ET AL.