Damaeidae (Acari, Oribatida) from high mountains in Costa Rica and Panama – biogeographical considerations
Keywords:
Central America, mountains, Cordillera de Talamanca, biogeography, insular effectAbstract
More than 85 % of all Damaeidae species are known from the Holarctic region, whereas in the tropics this family is poorly represented. Investigations on oribatid mites in Costa Rica and Panama revealed a surprisingly species rich material of Damaeidae. Altogether 78 specimens were found in 8 different mountain regions in Costa Rica and Panama. They belong to 11 species, which are presumably all new for science. The Damaeidae species occur almost exclusively in the upper vegetation belts of the Cordillera de Talamanca and nearby mountain ranges in tropical montane rain forest and subalpine paramo. It seems that the Central American high mountains offer refuges with insular effect which were possibly colonized during cooler climatic periods.
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