Epicrius resinae Karg, 1971

Án, Peter Ma Ò, 2008, The family Epicriidae in Slovakia: annotated faunal synopsis and description of a new species of Epicrius (Acari, Mesostigmata, Epicriidae), Zootaxa 1880, pp. 48-68 : 58

Epicrius resinae Karg, 1971

Epicrius resinae Karg, 1971: 106 ; Bregetova, 1977: 31, 39; Karg, 1993: 245; Gwiazdowicz, 2000: 471; Kontschán, 2004: 231.

? Epicrius reticulatus Grübe, 1859: 459 , 474.

Epicrius mollis .— Trägårdh, 1942: 3; Kalúz & Žuffová, 1989: 224.

Epicrius reticulatus .— Huhta et al., 1986: 360.

Verified or reliable published data. Bukovské Vrchy Hills: Nová Sedlica, Dolina Zbojského Potoka; Nová Sedlica, Stužica, Krtia Lúka; Nová Sedlica, Stužica, Pod Kremencom; Nová Sedlica, Stužica, Príkry; Ruské, Záruba; Ruský Potok, Veľký Bukovec; Uličské Krivé, Rožok; Zboj, Riaba Skala; Zboj, Stinská; Zboj, Slatina Pod Stinskou ( Fenďa & Mašán, 2003). Oravská Magura Mts.: Zázrivá, Minčol; Zázrivá, Paráč ( Kalúz, 1996).

Revised published data. Veľká Fatra Mts.: 1 ɗ – 17 June 1986, Ľubochňa, Skalná Alpa (published as E. mollis – Kalúz & Žuffová 1989, deposited in the Slovak National Museum Collection: SZ 5531).

New data. 2 ΨΨ, 1 DN – 1/2; 1 Ψ – 2/1; 1 ɗ – 2/2; 1 Ψ – 7/1; 2 ΨΨ – 8/1; 1 ɗ – 10/1; 1 ɗ – 11/1; 2 ɗɗ – 11/2; 1 Ψ – 11/4; 6 ΨΨ, 2 ɗɗ – 12/5; 2 ΨΨ, 2 ɗɗ – 13/2; 4 ΨΨ – 13/8; 6 ΨΨ, 3 ɗɗ – 14/1; 7 ΨΨ, 9 ɗɗ – 14/2; 1 Ψ – 14/3; 1 Ψ – 14/4; 1 ɗ – 15/1; 1 ɗ – 15/2; 1 Ψ – 16/1; 1 Ψ – 17/1; 2 ΨΨ, 4 ɗɗ – 19/1; 1 ɗ – 20/1; 2 ΨΨ, 1 ɗ – 20/4; 4 ΨΨ, 2 ɗɗ – 23/1; 3 ΨΨ, 1 ɗ – 24/1; 1 Ψ – 28/1; 1 Ψ – 28/2; 1 Ψ – 28/3; 1 ɗ – 28/5; 4 ΨΨ – 28/6; 3 ΨΨ, 2 DNs – 29/1; 3 ΨΨ, 2 ɗɗ – 30/1; 4 ΨΨ, 1 ɗ, 2 DNs – 30/2; 1 Ψ – 30/3; 4 ΨΨ – 30/5; 2 ΨΨ, 3 ɗɗ, 1 DN – 30/6; 2 ΨΨ – 30/7; 1 Ψ – 31/1; 1 ɗ – 31/2; 4 ΨΨ, 1 ɗ – 31/3; 4 ΨΨ, 1 ɗ – 32/1; 8 ΨΨ, 3 ɗɗ, 1 DN – 32/2; 2 ɗɗ – 34/1; 3 ΨΨ – 34/2; 5 ΨΨ, 4 ɗɗ – 34/3; 2 ΨΨ – 34/4; 3 ΨΨ – 34/5; 3 ΨΨ – 34/6; 3 ΨΨ, 1 DN – 34/7; 1 ɗ – 1/1; 1 Ψ – 34/8; 2 ΨΨ – 34/9; 2 ɗɗ – 35/1.

Ecology. This is a eurypotent species with a wide ecological plasticity, and the commonest and most abundant epicriid, widely distributed in Slovakia ( Fig. 1 ). It inhabits soil detritus, leaf and needle litter, mouldering wood substrates in various degrees of decomposition, mosses and the rhizosphere of herbs. Euryzonal species ranging from low hilly countries (200 m in Ipeľská Pahorkatina Wold) to alpine grasslands (2,120 m in Vysoké Tatry Mts.), with an optimum between 400 and 1,750 m ( Fig. 2 ). In areas below the timber-line it evidently shows silvicolous requirements in various types of forest habitats. In higher altitude stands, it can colonise, relatively frequently and abundantly, dwarf-pine growths (Pinion mugi), open grassy habitats and other non-woodland phytocoenoses (found in herbal associations Caricion firmae, Juncetum trifidi, Seslerion tatrae, and Carduo glaucini -Caricetum tatrorum). E. resinae inhabits stands of both deciduous and coniferous forests, and shows no preference for one of the types. It was not recorded in thermophilous forests or lowland willow-poplar flood-plain forests, and it avoids very humid substrates. A European element.

Notes. The species is sometimes considered to be synonymous with E. reticulatus ( Grube, 1859) by some authors (Lehtinen & Huhta, pers. comm.), and also published under this name ( Huhta et al., 1986). According to Evans (1955), the original description of E. reticulatus is sufficient only to indicate that the species probably belongs to the genus Epicrius , so this synonymy cannot be definitely confirmed.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Known distribution of epicriid species in Slovakia (dotted area represents Pannonian flora distribution).

FIGURE 2. Distribution of relative abundance and frequency of the most common epicriids in dependence on altitude in Slovakia. Explanations: white bar – relative abundance, black bar – relative frequency.