Sphaerochthonius littoralis Schatz, 2003

Chatterjee, Tapas, Pfingstl, Tobias & Pešić, Vladimir, 2018, A checklist of marine littoral mites (Acari) associated with mangroves, Zootaxa 4442 (2), pp. 221-240 : 234

Sphaerochthonius littoralis Schatz, 2003

Records associated with mangroves: Pinnacle Rock, Isla Bartolomé, Galápagos, moist mangrove leaf litter ( Laguncularia racemosa ); Punta Cormorán, Flamingo Lagoon, Isla Floreana, Galápagos, decayed mangrove leaf litter ( Laguncularia racemosa ); Darwin Bay and Lake Arcturus, Isla Genovesa, Galápagos, moist decayed leaf litter and black humus under Rhizophora mangle ; Flamingo Bay, Isla Rábida, Galápagos, moist decayed leaf litter under Rhizophora mangle ; South of Wreck Bay, Isla San Cristobal, Galápagos, moist leaf litter, humus and rotten wood under Conocarpus erecta , Laguncularia racemosa and Avicennia germinans ; Puerto Ayora, Divine’s Bay and west of Canal de Itabaca, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, moist decayed leaf litter under Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle mangroves ( Schatz 2003).

Distribution: Galápagos.

Remarks: Although this species occurs predominantly in the littoral mangrove habitat, it can also occur under other deciduous trees and in deeper humus layers. There are also a few remarkable records from a saltwater Crater Lake, old giant tortoise droppings and epiphytic lichens and moss in a highland cloud forest ( Schatz 2003).