Cosmochthonius
Berlese, 1910
Cosmochthonius is a of oribatid mites (Oribatida: Cosmochthoniidae) established by Berlese in 1910. The genus comprises at least eleven distributed across the Mediterranean basin and parts of the former Soviet Union. Species exhibit a split distribution pattern, with five species occurring in both western and eastern Mediterranean regions while six species are to the eastern Mediterranean.
Pronunciation
How to pronounce Cosmochthonius: /kɒzmoʊˈkθoʊniəs/
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Habitat
Mediterranean islands including Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes, Symi-Rhodes, and Lesvos; coastal zones of Turkey and Ukraine; southern and southeastern Crimea. Specific microhabitat preferences within these regions remain undocumented.
Distribution
Eastern Mediterranean, Ukraine (including Crimea), Tajikistan. Five (C. reticulatus, C. foliatus, C. lanatus, C. semifoveolatus, C. asiaticus) extend to the western Mediterranean. Distribution records also reported from Denmark and Norway based on GBIF data.
More Details
Species diversity
Eleven have been documented in the eastern Mediterranean and former Soviet Union regions: C. reticulatus, C. foliatus, C. lanatus, C. semifoveolatus, C. asiaticus, C. ugamaensis, C. zanini, C. macrosetosus, C. tenuisetosus, C. taurus, and C. ponticus.
Research methods
Scanning electron microscopy has been used to document habitus for eight of the eleven .