Berlesezetes ornatissimus (Berlese, 1913)

Berlesezetes auxiliaris: Schatz (1998); Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999); Schatz (2006).

Distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Records in Ecuador: Galápagos (Islas: Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Pinta, Pinzón, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santiago).

Habitat: Isla Bartolome: littoral zone mangroves near Pinnacle rock, in leaf litter under Maytenus octogona . Isla Fernandina: moist zon, western part of the island, in decayed leaf litter under Zanthoxylum fagara and Psychotria rufipes; in grass litter under Cyperus andersonii; in decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri and Darwiniothamnus tenuifolius; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum and Pityrograma camomelos; pampa with Carex sp. on crater rim, in grass and fern litter; fumarole on western part of the crater rim, dripping-wet pads of moss. Isla Floreana, littoral zone, Punta Cormoran, at lagoon, in well-decayed leaf litter under Avicennia germinans; arid zone, above Black beach, near Dr RITIER’S grave, in litter and humus under Acacia sp.; agricultural area, highland north of Cerro Pajas, in decaying wood and humus under dead Psidium guajava; near trail to finca, in decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood under Kalanchoe pinnata and Croton scouleri; near Asilo de la Paz, in crevice near buccaneer caves, in well-decayed leaf litter with roots and humus under Lantana camara; moist highland, at base of Cerro Pajas, in well-decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri; on crater rim of Cerro Pajas, in decayed leaf litter under Scalesia pedunculata and Zanthoxylum fagara . Isla Isabela: V. Wolf, upper arid ( Psychotria) zone: western side, Psidium galapageium forest with Zanthoxylum fagara, Tournefortia sp., Cordia lutea, Macraea laricifolia, in decayed leaf litter and humus; V. Alcedo, moist zone, along southern and eastern crater rim, in decayed fern litter and humus under Pteridium aquilinum and Ipomoea sp.; inside crater near fumarole; in fern litter under Polypodium sp. and in moss on rocks; elfin forest on northeastern slope, open woodland of Scalesia microcephala, Trema micrantha, Pisonia floribunda, Tournefortia rufosericea, in leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus; in dense grass; elfin forest inside of the main crater, near sulphurous fumaroles, dense Croton scouleri forest with Tournefortia rufosericea, Zanthoxylum fagara, Scalesia microcephala,, in decayed leaf litter of deeper layer; inside small crater near fumarole, dense forest of Psychotria rufipes and Scalesia microcephala, in partially decayed leaf litter and humus; western crater rim, dense forest, in decayed leaf litter and humus under dead trunk; V. Sierra Negra, arid zone, near Quinta Playa at Porvenir, open forest of Pisonia fioribunda and Acacia rorudiana, in partially decayed leaf litter and pieces of wood, in decaying wood; north of Puerto Villamil, in decaying wood under Prosopis juliflora; agricultural area, above S. Tomas, in decayed leaf litter under Inga edulis, Citrus limetta, Coffea arabica, Persea americana, Psidium guajava; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum; transition zone, north of Quinta Playa, dense forest with Scalesia cordata, Zanthoxylum fagara, Sapindus saponaria, Tournefortia pubescens, in decayed leaf litter with decaying pieces of wood and humus, in moss from trees and barks, on a dead trunk with Peperomia sp., in fern litter; pasture/Pampa, southwestern crater rim, forest of Psidium guajava, decaying wood and black humus under fallen log. V. Cerro Azul, southwestern part, dry forest, in thick litter layer under Acacia sp. Isla Pinzon: lower arid zone, eastern part, above islote, in partially-decayed leaf litter under Croton scouleri and Cordia lutea; on decaying wood from bark from Prosopis juliflora, upper arid zone, central valley, in decayed cactus litter under Opuntia echios var. macrocarpa; in grass litter; in litter and humus under Lantana peduncularis, Acacia macracantha, Croton scouleri, moist zone, southern crater rim of main caldera, in well-decayed leaf litter under Cordia lutea; summit, in grass litter and in partially decayed fern litter; southern slope of the island near big rocks, in decayed leaf litter and black humus under Cordia leucophlyctis, Croton scouleri, Alternanthera echinocephala . Isla Pinta, moist zone, eastern slope of the main crater, dense forest of Zantoxylum fagara and Pisonia floribunda, partially decayed leaf litter and humus; in deeper soil layers, among roots; on summit near the main crater, in decayed fern litter with roots and humus under upper most layer, under Pteridium aquilinum . Isla San Cristobal: arid zone, near electric power plant above Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, in leaf and grass litter under Parkinsonia aculeata and Pennisetum sp.; agricultural area, near El Progreso, in well decayed leaf litter under Psidium guajava, Persea americana, Eugenia jambos; moist zone, around lake El Junco, in decayed leaf litter, moss, and humus, in decaying wood and among roots under Miconia robinsoniana and Psidium guayava; in decayed fern litter under Pteridium aquilinum; pasture around lake, in grass and herb litter in Paspalum galapageium, Cyperus brevifolius, Commelina diffusa; small river southeast of lake, in well-decayed leaf litter under Miconia robinsoniana and Pteridium aquilinum . Isla Santa Cruz: arid zone, near Charles Darwin Research Station, in well-decayed leaf litter under Hippomane manzinella; north of station, at barranco, in leaf litter under Tournefortia pubescens, Psidium galapageium; between Puerto Ayora and Bellavista, dry forest of Croton scouleri, Piscidia carthagenensis, Zanthoxylum fagara, Tournefortia spp., in decayed leaf litter and humus; transition zone, near Cerro Chato, in decayed leaf litter and humus under Tournefortia pubescens and Zanthoxylum fagara; agricultural area, in decayed grass litter of Pennisetum purpureum; below Santa Rosa, in decayed leaf litter with pieces of wood and humus under Cedrela odorata; moist zones, Scalesia zone, in Scalesia pedunculata forest around Los Gemelos, in decayed leaf and grass litter; in leaf litter under Darwiniothamnus tenuifolius; in roots and leaf litter of epiphytic Peperomia galapagensis; Scalesia forest near Cerro Crocker, in leaf litter, partially with moss, pieces of wood, and roots; fern-sedge zone, below Cerro Crocker near Scalesia forest, in wet, decayed leaf and fern litter. Isla Santa Fe: arid zone northeastern part, behind sea-lion beach, very dry leaf litter under Croton scouleri . Isla Santiago: littoral zone, around lagoon of Playa Espumilla, in partially-decayed mangrove leaf litter under Conocarpus erecta . upper arid zone, western side, beside trail between Playa Espumilla and Los Aguacates, in leaf litter under Bursera graveolens and Acacia oecidentalis .

References: Schatz (1998): 382; Schatz & Palacios-Vargas (1999): 77-79; Schatz (2006): 233.