New records of marine water mites (acari: Hydrachnidia, pontarachnidae) from the southern Black Sea (Sinop Bay, Turkey)

Abstract

New records of marine mites family Pontarachnidae Koenike, 1910 (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the southern Black Sea (Sinop bay, Turkey) are presented. Two species, i.e., Pontarachna valkanovi Petrova, 1978 and Pontarachna adriatica Morselli, 1980 are reported for the first time from Turkey. These are the first records of these species after its original description. Our study shows ecological differences between these species: Pontarachna valkanovi specimens werecollected from 3 m depth, while P. adriαticaseems to be characteristic of deeper waters (10 m depth).