Carabodes minusculus Berlese, 1923 sensu Bernini, 1976

Schatz, Heinrich, 2018, Faunistics of oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) in dry grassland sites in the Eisack Valley (South Tyrol, Prov. Bolzano, Italy), Soil Organisms 90 (2), pp. 57-70 : 67

Carabodes minusculus Berlese, 1923 sensu Bernini

1976 (Fam. Carabodidae ): Taxonomic remark: This species is very similar to Carabodes schatzi Bernini, 1976 . The latter species is frequent at higher altitudes of the Central and Southern Alps ( Bernini 1976, Schatz 2018). Among the morphological differences between both species ( Bernini 1976) one of the most striking characters is the shape of the notogastral setae (longer, thin and pointed in C. schatzi versus thicker, serrate and blunt in C. minusculus ). General distribution: Bernini (1976) recorded this species from several localities in South Europe in dry habitats, it is also known from the western and southeastern Palaearctic including Central Asia, possibly introduced into the U.S.A. ( Hammer 1969). First record for South Tyrol. Earlier records of ‘ C. minusculus ’ in mountains around the Brenner Pass ( Schmölzer 1994) are considered to be C. schatzi ( Schatz 2018) . Eisack valley: Säben, Teis, Lajen, in dry grassland and rocky steppe.