Halacarid mites collected at offshore areas of Tokara Islands during the ocean floor survey cruises GB21-1 and GB21-2

Abstract

During the ocean floor survey cruises (GB21-1 and GB21-2) conducted by AIST in the sea are around the Tokara Islands in 2021, 12 species of six genera in the family Halacaridae: Copidognathus, Halacarellus, Agauopsis, Simognathus, Lohmannella, and Scaptognathus, an individual thought to be a halacarid mite but whose genus is uncertain, and one species in the family Acaridae were collected from the ocean floor sediment. Although the particle size of the sediment is known to be a limiting factor in the diversity of the halacarid genera, this survey suggests that depending on the genus, depth rather than sediment particle size and quality is a major limiting factor of distribution.