PROTOSTELIDS FROM TROPICAL FORESTS OF COSTA-RICA

Samples for isolation of protostelids were collected from two microhab itats, forest floor litter and aerial litter (dead but still attached plant parts), in tropical forests at four different localities in Cost a Rica. Seventeen species of protostelids were recovered from these sa mples. In general, numbers of species recorded for samples of forest f loor litter were rather comparable to those recorded for samples of ae rial litter. Schizoplasmodiopsis pseudoendospora, Nematostelium gracil e, and N. ovatum appear to be the most widely distributed and abundant species associated with the litter microhabitat in the forests sample d.