关键词: 甲螨, 分类学, 分类系统, 物种名录, 研究进展, 中国

Abstract

Background: Oribatid mites (Acari: Sarcoptiformes: Oribatida) are a major component of soil fauna and play essential roles in soil ecosystems. Taxonomic research on oribatid mites in China began in 1922. Several national checklists have been revised since the first systematic compilation in 1997. However, these works focused mainly on checklists, new-taxon statistics or historical narratives, and none has systematically assessed the reliability of distribution records or integrated classification systems, technical advances and key scientific questions. The present review aims to fill these gaps. 

Review scope and data: We systematically searched and reviewed literatures on Chinese oribatid mites published since 1922 to August 2026, revised the national checklist following the widely adopted higher classification of Oribatida proposed in 2009, with ptychoid mites arranged according to a recent revision, and classified each distribution record as supported by pure taxonomic literature, biodiversity-survey literature or non-taxonomic literature, correspondingly. 

Review Results: The known taxon of Oribatida in China increased from 312 species representing 164 genera of 68 families in 1997 to 1,073 species and 33 subspecies representing 324 genera of 109 families in August 2026. A total of 484 species and subspecies have their type localities in China, of which 407 were described by Chinese scholars independently or in collaboration with foreign colleagues. Of the 1,084 species- and subspecies-level checklist entries, 1,005 (92.7%) had at least one provincial-level distribution record in China supported by pure taxonomic literature, whereas 79 (7.3%) were supported only by biodiversity-survey or non-taxonomic literature. Of the 2,545 province-level distribution records, 438 (17.2%) lacked support from pure taxonomic literature. Meanwhile, the taxonomic study history and the morphological characteristics of oribatid mites were introduced briefly, the changes of the classification systems and the progress of species checklist updates of China were summarized systematically. Recent domestic research achievements on oribatid mites, including DNA barcoding, mitochondrial genomics, non-destructive DNA extraction methods, artificial intelligence-assisted species identification, and ontogenetic research via artificial rearing were also reviewed. 

Prospects: Oribatid taxonomy in China still relies mainly on adult morphology, and the documentary and voucher basis of distribution records remains uneven. While continuing the taxonomic research work, key scientific issues should also be focused: the definition of morphological species and the identification of cryptic species, the monophyly of higher category taxa, the systematic value of immatures, morphological convergence and phenotypic homology, and the biogeography and speciation of parthenogenetic lineages. This paper put forward targeted development suggestions, including consolidating the fundamental research of oribatid taxonomy, promoting the application and integration of emerging technologies, facilitating interdisciplinary integration between taxonomy and ecology, and strengthening professional talent training and international cooperation, so as to promote the sustainable development of oribatid mite taxonomic research in China.

Key words: oribatid mites, taxonomy, taxonomic system, species checklist, research progress, China