Two new species and a new synonym of Eustigmaeus (Acari: Stigmaeidae) from Russia with COI barcode

Abstract

Two new species, Eustigmaeus reticulatus sp. n. and E. pseudolacunus sp. n. (Acari: Stigmaeidae) are described based on females and males collected from different parts of Russia. A fragment of the COI barcoding gene was sequenced to facilitate DNA-based identification. Based on the study of the holotype of Eustigmaeus mineus Barilo, it is considered a junior synonym of Eustigmaeus collarti Cooreman. An updated key to the Eustigmaeus species of Russia is provided.

First Description of Deutonymph Male of Eustigmaeus anauniensis (Canestrini) (Trombidiformes: Stigmaeidae)

“…Members of the family Stigmaeidae live on plants, in soil, plant litter, mosses and lichens, feeding on a variety of small arthropods, and some of which have long been considered economically important predators of plant feeding mites [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The family Stigmaeidae currently contains more than 640 species within 33 valid genera [3,4,6,7].…”

“…Eustigmaeus is one of the largest genera of the Stigmaeidae. This genus comprises more than 130 species worldwide [3,4,6,7], 28 of which have been reported from Türkiye [9,10].…”