ABSTRACT
Background: Enchytraeids, or potworms, are tiny oligochaetes that are distributed worldwide in many terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Despite their key role in the functioning of ecosystems, the diversity and abundance of Enchytraeidae are rarely studied due to the laborious process of species identification. The present study addresses this gap and sheds some light on the distribution and abundance of enchytraeids in the lands of the Northern Palearctic. The provided dataset constitutes the latest and comprehensive field sampling of enchytraeid assemblages across the Asiatic part of the Northern Palearctic, encompassing an original set of soil samples systematically collected throughout the region from 2019 to 2022. New information: The dataset includes occurrences from 131 georeferenced sites, encompassing 39 species and 7,074 records. This represents the first dataset providing species-specific information about the distribution and abundance of terrestrial enchytraeids across an extensive geographic area covering the Asian sector of the Northern Palaearctic. The compiled dataset is the key for exploring and understanding local and regional enchytraeid diversity. It may also serve as a valuable resource for monitoring and conserving the entire soil biodiversity.
ABSTRACT
A new species of the genus Tyrphonothrus (Oribatida, Malaconothridae) is described from Ethiopia, based on adult and juvenile instars; it is collected from mosses on the swamp at the top of the mountain in Arsi Mountains National Park. Tyrphonothrus digeluensis sp. nov. differs from the related species Tyrphonothrus obesus (Yamamoto & Coetzee, 2004) and T. rectus (Yamamoto & Coetzee, 2004) by the pubescence of exobothridial, epimeral, anoadanal, and some notogastral setae. Comparison between juvenile instars of the new species and the known juveniles of Malaconothridae is presented.
