Present status of water mite species (Acari, Hydrachnidia) described by Motaş, Tanasachi and Orghidan from Romania

Abstract

The present paper investigates the validity of the water mite species (Acari, Hydrachnidia) described from Romania by Motaş, Tanasachi and Orghidan. The Romanian researchers from the “Emil Racoviţă” Speleology Institute, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, had a prolific activity between 1939 and 1963: among the taxa new to science described by these authors, 34 species and 3 subspecies had their type localities in Romania. More than 50 years later, 23 species and one subspecie described by the team coordinated by Motaş are still valid. 17 of these taxa were found all over Europe, while 7 were not recorded outside Romania until present day.

Keywords

• synonym species
• valid species
• species dubia
• species incertae