Revision and identification key of cryptostigmatic mites of the family Galumnidae (Acari: Oribatida) in Iran, with a new record of the genus Cryptogalumna

Oribatid mites of the Galumnidae family (Acari: Oribatida) are among the mites that are found abundantly in different habitats, especially in the soil, and with their high species diversity and special biological characteristics, they play an important role in the decomposition of organic materials and ecosystem food chains. In this paper, the oribatid mite of the Galumnidae family of Iran has been revised. The examined samples belong to a period of thirty-two years from 1991 to 2023, from different regions of Iran, and almost all of them are kept in the Acarological collection of the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Iran. The examined samples are about 1000 individual mites are kept in the form of microscopic slides. In this review, 28 species of mites of this family belonging to nine genera including Acrogalumna, Allogalumna, Cryptogalumna, Galumna, Leptogalumna, Pergalumna, Psammogalumna, Pilogalumna and Trichogalumna from different parts of Iran were introduced and a key to identify the genera and species was presented. The genus Cryptogalumna is reported for the first time from Iran. In this paper, the role and importance of Galumnidae family in nature is also briefly mentioned.