| abstract | An account is given of the microarthropods collected from juniper litter and from the soils of oases in the southern California desert. Particular attention is paid to the mite component of this fauna and descriptions are given of five new species of Cryptostigmata, namely Joshuella striata, Haplochthonius variabilis, Eremaeus magniporus, Passalozetes californicus and Zygoribatula heteroporosa. A detailed sampling programme was undertaken only at the juniper site, but the results obtained from the entire survey, and comparisons with the fauna of neighbouring semi-desert areas, indicate that each of the microhabitats sampled has its own characteristic assemblage of species populationss. |