독도의 토양 응애 Macrocheles penicilliger (Berlese, 1904) (응애아강: 중기문목) 미기록종 보고

초록

The Dokdo islands are volcanic islands with a unique climate and ecosystem and represent the easternmost land area of the Republic of Korea. Although biodiversity studies have been conducted in Dokdo, soil arthropods have rarely been investigated. In this study, we collected soil from both of the main islands of Dokdo in 2023 and 2024 and isolated soil mites using the Berlese–Tullgren method. For species identification, morphological features and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences were analyzed, revealing the presence of Macrocheles penicilliger (Berlese, 1904), a previously unrecorded species in Korea. Morphological comparisons showed that three pairs of the sternal setae of M. penicilliger from Dokdo differed from those in the described literature in that the first pair was plumose distally, while the second and third pairs were simple. In addition, the COI sequences of individuals collected from Dongdo (East island) and Seodo (West island) of Dokdo differed by 2.43%, and the sequence of the Seodo individual was 100% identical to those from Belgian samples. These findings reveal the genetic diversity of M. penicilliger in Dokdo and suggest that its distribution on the islands may be related to its phoretic behavior, which is associated with insects inhabiting the nests of migratory birds.

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