Fauna of edaphic mites of the subcohort Dermanyssiae (Mesostigmata: Gamasina) in northwestern area of Kerman Province

Mesostigmatic mites of the subcohort Dermanyssiae (Monogynaspida: Gamasina) are mostly free living predators that have important roles in edaphic ecosystems and food-chains. A faunistic survey was carried out on edaphic Dermanyssiae in northwestern area of Kerman Province during 2011–2012. The samples were taken from habitats randomly. A total of 25 species belonging to 21 genera, 12 families and 6 superfamilies were collected and identified from which Rhodacarus coronatus(Berlese) was regarded as the first record of the species from Iran. Among the collected specimens, Macrochelidae had the highest relative frequency (30.2%) and the families Laelapidae and Melicharidae with 28.8% and 15.7% frequencies, respectively, were situated in the next ranks.