Macrocheles caelatus Berlese

Macrocheles (Coprholaspis) caelatus Berlese, 1918: 157 . Macrocheles caelatus: Walter & Krantz, 1986: 283 .

Specimens examined: Site 94­13, 12 females; Site 94­14, 2 females.

Macrocheles caelatus was described from East Africa (Berlese, 1918) and subsequently collected from Zaire and Rwanda (Walter & Krantz, 1986). The records of this species from New Zealand, Fiji and Malaysia (Ramsay, 1970; Emberson, 1973) represent misidentification of M. peniculatus Berlese. M. caelatus is a member of the Macrocheles glaber species group, which prey on nematodes and insect eggs and larvae wherever organic matter is decomposing. The Australian fauna includes at least 6 species in this group, not including M. caelatus (Halliday, 2000b) .