Oribatid mites are important decomposers of dead organic matter in soils across the world. Their origin dates back at least 380 Mya. Multiple severe climatic changes during Late Pliocene and Pleistocene shaped the migration patterns of these organisms and should be reflected in the genetic variability of their current populations. In this study, we examined the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure as well as the evolutionary history of populations of two ecologically different oribatid mite species. Pantelozetes cavaticus is a troglophile oribatid mite known mainly from Central European caves, whereas Pantelozetes paolii is a common surface eurytopic species with Holarctic distribution. We used two molecular markers—mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the nuclear D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene—to reveal phylogenetic relationships between contemporary populations. Whereas the D3 region showed minimal or no variability within populations, COI appeared to be a relevant marker for population studies. Phylogeographic analysis based on COI detected two lineages of P. cavaticus (‘Czech’ and ‘Slovak’), which separated during the Late Pliocene (2.9 Mya) and revealed the existence of one new species. In contrast, three identified genetic lineages of P. paolii (radiation time 2.9 and 1.2 Mya, respectively) uncovered in this study were found to coexist in the distant sampling localities, suggesting a connection between populations even over long distances.

蜘蛛螨是全世界土壤中死有机物的重要分解剂。它们的起源至少可以追溯到380妙。晚更新世和更新世期间多次严重的气候变化决定了这些生物的迁移方式，应在其当前种群的遗传变异中反映出来。在这项研究中，我们检查了遗传多样性和系统地理结构，以及两种生态学不同的oribatid螨种群的进化史。Pantelozetes cavaticus是一种嗜螨螨，主要从中欧洞穴中发现，而Pantelozetes paolii是一种常见的表面性类，具有Holarctic分布。我们使用了两种分子标记（线粒体细胞色素C氧化酶亚基I（COI）和28S rDNA基因的核D3区）来揭示当代人群之间的系统发育关系。尽管D3区域在人群中显示出最小的变异或没有变异，但COI似乎是人群研究的相关标记。基于COI的系统谱分析检测到了两个P. cavaticus谱系（“ Czech”和“ Slovak”），它们在上新世晚期（2.9 Mya）分离开来，并揭示了一个新物种的存在。相比之下，三个鉴定出的P. paolii遗传谱系 发现在这项研究中发现的（辐射时间分别为2.9和1.2 Mya）在遥远的采样地点共存，这表明即使在很长的距离上，种群之间也存在联系。