Oribatid mites, charming creatures living in the soil

Abstract

Half a century ago, in contrast to European countries, Japan and adjacent Asian countries were blank areas of knowledge in oribatid fauna. When the initial work on oribatid taxonomy was started by me in 1958, only six species of oribatid mites had been known from Japan. A steady stream of discovery of new species, however, increased the total number of oribatid species in Japan now to more than 650, of which 300 were described by me as new species. The results of my studies with special interest are 1) the founding of peculiar species inhabiting lichen growing on the back of New Guinean weevils and representing a new genus and a new family, 2) recognition of microhabitats of oribatids on the forest floors, 3) comparison of sensillar shapes between arboreal and soil living species, 4) disappearance and reappearance of soil animals along with succession of vegetation in tropical rain forests of Borneo, where shifting cultivation is predominated, 5) proposal of environmental diagnosis using oribatid mites as biological indicator, 6) oribatid mites inhabiting drifts on the sea shores, 7) city constructions as habitats of oribatid mites.