Cosmochthonius lanatus

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 21-22

Cosmochthonius lanatus (Michael, 1885)

Hypochthonius lanatus Michael , 1885, p. 396, pl. 7 fig. 11; 1888, p. 541, pl. 49 figs. 15-22.

Hypocthonius lanatus , Berlese, 1896b, p. 25.

Cosmochthonius lanatus , Berlese, 1910, p. 221; Lombardini, 1936, p. 39.

Cosmochthonius domesticus Grandjean , 1948, p. 354; 1950, p. 80.

In the present species tarsus I is bidactyle, whilst tarsi II, III, and IV have three claws. Some years ago (Van der Hammen, 1952) I noted already that according to Evans (in litt.) Michael erroneously described the type specimens as monodactylous. Consequently, the name C. domesticus Grandjean, created for a species similar to the original description of C. lanatus but with bi- and tridactylous legs, is no more necessary.

In the Berlese Collection numerous specimens of the species are present. The greater part of the slides are in a bad condition so that I looked at a few specimens only. I have not established if some of the slides also contain specimens of a closely related species, C. reticulatus Grandjean (1948, p. 354), different from C. lanatus by the greater total length and by the shape of the dorsal alveoli; certainly C. reticulatus will prove to occur in Italy.