| abstract | The eremaeids of North America are a very large and variable group composed of many species and found throughout many habitats. They have been found in nearly every habitat from the dust-like deserts of the western United States to permanently damp, moss-covered logs in our mountains. In order to separate this very large group into workable divisions, and inasmuch as only the species exists in nature, and because collecting in the field has failed to find mixed populations of the traits that caused some workers to reject the genus Eueremaeus, I have found it necessary to accept the genera Eremaeus C. L. Koch and Eueremaeus Mihelcic and to propose the new genus Kartoeremaeus with five new species plus K. areolatus (Kunst) (new comb.).
Studies of the Eremaues complex seem to indicate that some of these forms might be "indicator species" of soil conditions. For example, in limited studies on the effects of a coal-burning power plant in western Colorado, K. woolleyi, n.sp., would be one of the first species to be eliminated from the soil as pollution increased and spread outward from the plant area. Careful studies of the microhabitats will undoubtedly show the more complete role of these mites in the soil. |