| abstract | Two new species of trombiculid mites, Gahrliepia (G.) khandalaensis n. sp. and Ascoschoengastia (Laurentella) guptai n. sp. are described and illustrated from Western-ghats in Poona district, Maharashtra state, India. The former is morphologically related to G. (G.) picta Traub and Morrow, 1955, and was collected only from Suncus murinus. Whereas A. (L.) guptai n. sp. is related to A. (L.) kitajima (Fukuzuki and Obeta, 1953) and A. (L.) sellnicki Audy and Womersley, 1957, and was collected from Suncus murinus, Rattus rattus rufescens and R. r. satarae. During the studies on trombiculid mites from Western-ghats of Poona district, Maharashtra state, India, more than a dozen new species have been recognised. Of these, two species, viz. L. (L.) sinhgarhense and Gahrliepia (Schongastiella) ramachandrai have already been described (KULKARNI, 1973). Two more are being described and illustrated here. The holotypes of the two species are deposited in the collection of the Virus Research Centre (V.R.C.), Poona, India. Paratypes will be deposited in the V.R.C; Indian Museum, Calcultta; British Museum (Nat. Rist.), London; Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, Montana, U.S.A.; and Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. |