A NEW CRYPTOSTIGMATID MITE ( ACARI : ORIBATEI ) AND A FEW NEW RECORDS OF CRYPTOSTIGMATID FAUNA FROM FOREST AND TEA SOILS IN JALPAIGURI DISTRICT , WEST BENGAL

Jalpaiguri distric.t is a virgin territory almost unexplored in the field ofOribatidology. But the topography,. climatic conditions and vegetations of J alpaiguri seemed to harbour an enriched faunal treasure of these soil microarthrQPods. A survey programme was therefore, undertaken to explore the soil oribatid fauna of forest and tea soils in the district of J alpaiguri, West Bengal, India since April, 1996. Examination of a pa11 of the collected speci1nens reveals th~ occurrence of a new species, Parahypozetes orientalis and eighteen known species distributed over nineteen genera under fifteen families.


INTRODUCTION
Jalpaiguri distric.t is a virgin territory almost unexplored in the field ofOribatidology.But the topography,.climatic conditions and vegetations of J alpaiguri seemed to harbour an enriched faunal treasure of these soil microarthrQPods.A survey programme was therefore, undertaken to explore the soil oribatid fauna of forest and tea soils in the district of J alpaiguri, West Bengal, India since April, 1996.Examination of a pa11 of the collected speci1nens reveals th~ occurrence of a new species, Parahypozetes orientalis and eighteen known species distributed over nineteen genera under fifteen families.
All the species listed here are new records for Jalpaiguri district.The genusPnfnhypozetes is reported here for the first time from India.
The types of the new species and the specimens of the known species are deposited in the laboratory of the Department of Zoology, Ananda 'Chandra College, Jalpaiguri-735 101, India.All measurements are in micrometers(fJm).
The genllsParah ypozetes was established by Ham Iner ( 1967) wi th Parc.lh ypozetes gra n dis "s the type-species from New Zealand.She (op.cit.) also contributed 7 other new species from the same continent.While c(eating this genus, HaJnmer () 967) only lnentioned that the new genus Parahypozetes belongs to the supelfamily Ceratozetoidea.Balogh (1972) in his catalogue " Th~ Oribatid Genera of the World", however, placed the genus Pan.lhypozetes .under the family Ceratozetidae Jacot, 1925 of the supelfamily Ceratozetoidea as well as under the family Achipteriidae Thor, ) 929 of the supelfamily Oribatelloidea.Balogh and Balogh () 983) created 3 more new species, Jobatus, bidactyJus and brevisetn under the genus Pur"hypozetesfrom Australia.Thus fro In. the above account, II species are known under the genus Parahypozetes, of which Hammer alone reported 8 species.The genus Pnfnhypozetes is being repol1ed here for the first time from India with the description of a new species,
Prodorsum more or less twice broader than long; rostrum conical; rostral setae outwardly barbed, bent inward with pointed tips, inserted rather far posteriorly on the lateral sides of rostrum, 88-91 long; lamellae very long, longer than prodorsum and covered most of the prodorsum; cuspids broadly rounded, leaf-like, anterior portion of the interior borders more or less touching each other; middle portion of the lamellae fused with each other to form synlamellata, lamellae with cuspids, 240-243 long; lamellar setae smooth, with i~curved' pointed tips, extended beyond the tip of cuspid and rostral setae, 80-85 long, inserted at the' anterior border of the cuspis, basa12/3rd covered by cuspis; interlamellar setae, smooth, very long, 140-143 in length, inserted at the base of the prodorsum close to the lamellae ari~ extended beyond the tip of the rostrum, 2 times longer than their mutual distance; bothridium .<cup-shaped, 30-32 long; sensillus with a basal stalk and fusiform aciculated head, 88-92 long,.directed anteriorad.
Notogaster with prominently arched dorsosejugal suture, finely and densely punctate; pteromorphae well-developed with lateral and downward directed angle, immovable, with a long, acute, projecting appendage, lateral border with radiating stripes; notogastral setae 10 pai rs, ~mooth, 14-48 long; setae ta situated inner side of the pteromorph, a little posterolateral to the bothridium; setae te located far postero-Iateral to setae ta on pteromorph; setae ti situated in between the two, on the inner side of notogaster; distance ti-ti < distance ta-ta < distance te-te; setae ti, ms, r."\ remain more or less in a row on the lateral side of notogaster, setaer l ,P 1 ,P 2 andp 3 postero-marginal, setaems being the longest,P 1 the shortest; sacculi (Sa) distinct and located at the at:ttero-Iateral side of the insertion of ti setae on notogaster; fissure im also distinct and situated a little below the postero-Iateral side of the insertion of ti setae on notogaster.
in transverse antero-marginal rows and remaining 4 situated medially from anterior to posterior end to the genital plate; aggenital setae one pair (only follicles found, simple in paratypes), their mutual distance nearly twice the maximum width of the genital plates.
All tarsi tridactylous; claws curved, middle one strongest and much stronger than lateral ones.
Holotype Adult (F), INDIA W Bengal Jalpaiguri District, Kalchini Tea Estate (from loose soil with humus, litter and rotten leaves of Camellia sinensis), 2.vi.1996P"rahypozetes lobatusBalogh and Balogh (1983).The new speciesParahypozetes orient,llis also conforms with P. iobatus Balogh and Balogh, 1983 in the nature of broadly' rounded' cuspis and the type of sensillus.It however, differs mainly from lobatus Balogh and Balogh ( 198,3) 1n the very long size of interlameller setae and in the arrangement of genital setae, but from all the established species by the nature of pteromorph.
In the genus Parahypozetes, the authors came across with 2 species having same name, viz., P. lo.batus, one established by Hammer in the y.ear 1967 from New Zealand and another by Balogh and Balogh, 1983 from Australia.However, the two species of the samename from different continents characteristically differ from each other mainly i~ the' prodorsal region and especially in the nature of lamellae and length of interlamellar setae.Therefore, they shoud be treated as separate species.So, for the law of priority, the species name P. lobatus of Balogh and Balogh, 1983 should be changed.Mondal andKundu, 1988 1988. HopJophthiracarus tropicus Mondal andKundu, Rec. zoo I. Surv. India, 8S (I)  Oribatel18 meridionalis Berlese, 1908 190ft (),.ihi,lellCi nleridionCilis Berles~, Rediel, ~ : 5.

SUMMARY
This paper deals with nineteen species of soil oribatid fauna (Acari) distributed over nineteen genera under fifteen' families.Out of the nineteen species one new species, viz., P~'fahypozetes orientalis is described here.All the other eighteen species mentioned here are first time reported from J alpaiguri district.The genus Parahypozetes is recorded here for the first time from India.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The first author is indebted to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India for providing financial assistance in this minor research project to investigate on the soil oribatid lnites (Acari) of forest and tea soils in the district of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India.