Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2015
I present the systematics and distribution of a new species of oribatid mite in the genus Metrioppia Grandjean, 1931 (Oribatida: Peloppiidae) from western North America. Metrioppia walbranensisnew species is diagnosed on the basis of adult morphology using the following character states: shape and dentition of the rostrum, length of lamellae, shape of lamellar cusps, length of the interlamellar setae, and number of posterior notogastral setae. The known distribution of M. walbranensis is provided based on sampling and museum collections. Metrioppia walbranensis has been collected only from a small number of locations on south-west Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, while its congener M. oregonensis Woolley and Higgins, 1969 has been collected widely within the Pacific Northwest, including sites on Vancouver Island. However, the two species do not appear to co-occur. Nucleotide sequence of the COI gene firmly places Metrioppia within the family Peloppiidae.
Subject editor: Heather Proctor