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Acarina

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Superorder ACARINA

Mites


Compiler and date details

30 April 2000 - Bruce Halliday, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australian Captial Territory, Australia

Introduction

The publication of Mites of Australia: A Checklist and Bibliography (Halliday 1998) was intended to summarise the state of knowledge of the Australian mite fauna, on the basis of described species in the published literature. The introduction of that work recognised the fact that no published checklist can ever be complete or up-to-date, and like any such list, it was out of date even before it was published. The purpose of this electronic version of the checklist is to incorporate new material that has been published since 1998, as well as correcting some errors and omissions in the previous version.

The closing date for Halliday (1998) was 31 December 1998, and this update extends this to 30 April 2000. The most important changes in the intervening period have been summarised in Halliday (2000), but there have been many others, including the correction of nomenclatural and bibliographic errors that came to light during the preparation of this electronic version. Another important change has been to include all families in a heirarchical classification, instead of listing them alphabetically as before. Genera within families, and species within genera, are still given in simple alphabetical order, but higher categories are now placed in a classification based on that given in Parker (1982). It is recognised very clearly that the higher classification of the mites is in a state of flux at the moment, and changes will be made in the future as our understanding of the relationships of various taxa continues to improve.

As in Halliday (1998), the purpose of this work is to:

- provide a list of the names of all species of mites recorded from Australia in published literature;
- place these species in the currently appropriate higher classification;
- provide a bibliography of the literature associated with these species;
- maintain all this information in a series of accessible computer files that can be updated at any time

The Australian Mite Fauna

The compilation of this Checklist allows an examination of the state of knowledge of the mite fauna of Australia. The known fauna at the end of April 2000 comprised 2,871 described species in 304 families (Astigmata 340, Oribatida 319, Prostigmata 1392, Ixodida 78, Holothyrida 3, Mesostigmata 739). The biggest families include the Atopomelidae (98), Steganacaridae (66), Eriophyidae (51), Trombiculidae (112), Tetranychidae (55), Erythraeidae (129), Ixodidae (64), Laelapidae (123), Phytoseiidae (128) and Rhinonyssidae (90). These 10 families include a total of 916 species, almost one-third of the total fauna. The major factor responsible for the dominance of these families is the study of parasites of vertebrates (Atopomelidae, Trombiculidae, Ixodidae, Laelapidae, Rhinonyssidae), invertebrates (Erythraeidae) and plants (Eriophyidae, Tetranychidae). Their importance arises both from the economic significance of these groups and their association with distinctive elements of the native fauna and flora. Further dramatic growth in the known fauna may be expected in groups that have been relatively neglected, including the Eriophyidae, feather mites, Halacaridae and Uropodina.

The mites are usually classified into three Orders, the Opilioacariformes, Acariformes and Parasitiformes, and each Order is subdivided into Suborders, Cohorts, Superfamilies and families. It is useful to use this classification as a framework for a brief description of the biology and composition of the Australian mite fauna, and to identify some priorities for future research in systematics.

Order Acariformes
The Order Acariformes is here divided into the suborders Astigmata, Oribatida and Prostigmata.

Suborder Astigmata
The Suborder Astigmata may for convenience be divided into the Acaridia and the Psoroptidia, although these probably do not correspond to monophyletic taxonomic groups. The Acaridia is a group of approximately 23 families of saprophytic and scavenger species that can roughly be described as free-living Astigmata. It includes the common cheese mites and flour mites, and other pests of stored food. Dominant families are the Acaridae, Glycyphagidae, Chortoglyphidae and Carpoglyphidae (Hughes 1976). Many species are free-living, but others occur in habitats such as the nests and burrows of birds, mammals and insects. Many species have a specialised non-feeding phoretic morph (hypopus) that is found attached to the body of its host. These phoretic instars are common on insects and mammals that occur in the same habitats as the mites. Many species are cosmopolitan and associated with humans and their houses, but the Australian fauna also contains distinctive groups associated with endemic mammals and insects. The Australian fauna includes about 50 known species in 15 families, but this group has never been systematically studied here, and certainly contains hundreds of species. The USSR fauna comprised over 200 species when it was surveyed 50 years ago (Zakhvatkin 1941).

The Psoroptidia is a group of Astigmatid mites that includes about 17 families in the superfamilies Psoroptoidea and Pyroglyphoidea, which represent varying stages in the development of parasitism on vertebrate hosts. This group includes the medically important house dust mites (Pyroglyphidae), and many species of parasites that occur in the fur and skin of mammals (Listrophoridae, Atopomelidae, Chirodiscidae). It includes the species responsible for scabies of man and animals (Sarcoptidae), and other livestock parasites such as the Knemidokoptidae, skin parasites of birds. The Australian fauna of parasitic Astigmata has recently been catalogued at 204 species (Domrow 1992), but apart from a handful of medically important species, they have not been systematically studied. Our fauna contains many distinctive genera and species that have specific associations with marsupials.

The Psoroptidia also includes about 25 families of feather mites, which are ectoparasites of birds. Only about 25 species in 8 families are known from Australia (Pterolichidae, Freyanidae, Proctophyllodidae, Trouessartiidae, Gabuciniidae, Turbinoptidae, Dermoglyphidae, Syringobiidae), but overseas experience suggests that every species of bird has at least one species-specific feather mite (Gaud & Atyeo 1996), so the number of Australian feather mites must exceed 500 species. The feather mites of Australia have never been studied except in a sporadic way. Hypotheses about the phylogeny of the Australian birds could be tested by examining the co-evolutionary patterns among their parasites.

The world fauna of Oribatida (= Cryptostigmata) includes about 150 families and thousands of species. Virtually all are saprophytic, some feed on fungi, and a small number on lichens and higher plant material. In this role they are important in the breakdown of plant material. Some species are of economic importance as intermediate vectors for livestock tapeworms. Oribatids are the most abundant and diverse group of mites in forest leaf litter. The known Australian fauna includes just over 300 species in 45 families, the biggest of which are the Steganacaridae, Brachychthoniidae, Basilobelbidae, Oppidae and Pedrocortesellidae. Most of the known Australian species have been described in the last 20 years (e.g. Niedbala & Colloff 1997). The Australian National Insect Collection and other public collections contain many thousands of specimens belonging to hundreds of undescribed species.

Suborder Prostigmata
The Suborder Prostigmata is very large and diverse group about which generalisation is impossible. Parasitism on vertebrates has evolved many times in diverse groups of Prostigmata. The most important of these is the chiggers (family Trombiculidae). In addition to the chiggers, the known Australian fauna includes a total of at least 120 parasitic species in other families of Prostigmata. These non-chigger parasites have recently been catalogued (Domrow 1991), but many questions remain, and there is no current research on these groups. Other Prostigmata are plant parasites, predators, saprophytes and fungivores. For the sake of convenience the Prostigmata may be sorted into 6 cohorts, although the arrangement and names of these groups has not achieved stability.

The Cohort Anystina includes eight families of predators, containing about 150 species world-wide, plus some parasites. Some of the predators, for example in the family Anystidae, are potentially beneficial in the biological control of pest mites and insects (Otto 1992), and recent work has substantially increased our knowledge of these groups (e.g. Otto 1999a, b, c).

The Cohort Eleutherengona includes the Tetranychidae, or spider mites, such as the common two-spotted spider mite. This is a group of very important plant pests, which includes 900 species world-wide. Only about 50 are known from Australia (Gutierrez & Schicha 1983). The superfamily Tetranychoidea also includes two other important families of plant parasites, the false spider mites or Tenuipalpidae, and the spectacular Tuckerellidae. The Australian fauna has been almost totally neglected, especially those species that are associated with native plants. The superfamily Eriophyoidea also comprises three families of plant parasites, commonly known as rust mites and gall mites (Eriophyidae, Phytoptidae, Diptilomiopidae). Over 2000 species are known world-wide, but fewer than 50 species are known from Australia. They show a high degree of host plant specificity, suggesting that there could be several thousand species in Australia. Many are economically important plant pests, but others have been used successfully for the biological control of weeds (Amrine & Stasny 1994; Lindquist et al. 1996). The Eleuthrengona also includes about 18 other families, about half of which have been recorded in Australia, but never seriously studied. They include parasites of vertebrates, plant parasites, and beneficial predatory species in families such as the Cheyletidae, Stigmaeidae, Camerobiidae and Caligonellidae.

The Cohort Endeostigmata comprises nine families of soil and litter mites, three of which have been recorded from Australia (Nanorchestidae, Bimichaelidae, Terpnacaridae). They are probably mostly predatory. Over 100 species have been described world-wide, but the Australian fauna is almost totally unknown. The Nanorchestidae appear to be abundant and diverse in the Australian deserts, but not one species has been described from that habitat.

The Cohort Eupodina is a group of 11 families world-wide. The Australian fauna of some families is well known, but most have not been studied. The world fauna of Halacaridae includes about 1000 species of marine and intertidal mites, of which only about 60 species are known from Australia. This level of knowledge is probably typical for the whole group. The family Penthaleidae contains some economically important pasture pests, such as the redlegged earth mite and the blue oat mite, as well as other species that appear to be harmless components of the native fauna. The superfamily Bdelloidea includes some economically important beneficial predators (Wallace & Mahon 1973, 1976).

The intriguing Cohort Heterostigmata includes 12 families of small soil mites, many of them with specialised phoretic instars and close associations with insects. It includes some important pest species of plant parasites in the family Tarsonemidae, which have never been studied in Australia, as well as soil mites in the families Pygmephoridae, Scutacaridae, and Microdispidae. It also includes the straw itch mites of the family Pyemotidae, which attack humans and cause serious skin disease, but even these cannot be identified in Australia with any confidence. The world fauna includes over 500 described species, but fewer than 25 are known from Australia.

The biggest Prostigmatid Cohort is the Parasitengona. The best known family of Parasitengona is the Trombiculidae or chiggers. The Australian fauna of this family includes 107 species of parasites of vertebrates, including native species of marsupials and rodents. They have recently been catalogued (Domrow & Lester 1985), but almost all available information refers to the parasitic larval stage, and identification of adults is almost completely impossible, as the required research has never been attempted in Australia. Some are medically important disease vectors implicated in the transmission of diseases including Q fever and scrub typhus.

The Parasitengona Cohort also includes about 50 families of water mites, whose larvae are parasitic on aquatic insects, and whose adults are free-living aquatic predators. The Australian fauna includes 250 described species, most of which were described since 1985 (Cook 1986). The Parasitengona also includes 10 families that are the terrestrial counterparts of the water mites. The larvae of these are parasitic on terrestrial invertebrates, most notably grasshoppers. Over 100 known species occur in Australia, and hundreds more undescribed species exist in collections. The group certainly includes some economically important beneficial species, such as predators in agricultural systems (Erythraeidae), but these cannot be exploited because most cannot be identified with any confidence. Other important families in this group are the Trombidiidae, Trombellidae, Microtrombidiidae and Smarididae.

Order Opiliocariformes
The Opilioacariformes are a small group of early derivative mites that show strong relationships with other groups of Arachnida. They are found in wet habitats such as under rocks in forests. The Australian fauna comprises a single undescribed species that preys on mites and insects as well as pollen and fungal spores (Walter & Proctor 1998).

Order Parasitiformes
The Order Parasitiformes is here considered to be subdivided into three suborders.

Suborder Holothyrida
The Suborder Holothyrida includes three families of large distinctive predators with a typical Gondwanan southern hemisphere distribution. The total world fauna comprises fewer than 20 species. The Australian fauna comprises only three known species in a single family (Allothyridae) from rainforest leaf litter, but many other undescribed species exist in collections. Detailed study of the Holothyrida will provide valuable insights into the early evolution of the other Parasitiform groups.

Suborder Ixodida
The Suborder Ixodida comprises three families of ticks, two of which occur in Australia (Argasidae, Ixodidae). Fewer than 100 species are known from Australia. These are well known and were monographed by Roberts (1970), but very little extra has been learned since then, except on a few species of medical or veterinary importance. The Australian fauna includes some distinctive species that are parasitic on marsupials and native lizards. Some are serious health threats to humans and livestock, especially the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus and the cattle tick Boophilus microplus.

Suborder Mesostigmata
The Mesostigmata includes about 70 families world-wide. Most are free-living predators, including the very valuable arboreal predators in the family Phytoseiidae, which have been used extensively in biological control of plant pests such as spider mites (see Schicha 1987). Most families are common in soil and litter, and some of these are phoretic on insects such as dung beetles. A few of the Australian families of free-living species are well known, but others have been completely neglected. About 6 families are wholly or partly parasitic on vertebrates, and 217 parasitic species in these families have recently been catalogued for the Australian fauna (Domrow 1988). The non-parasitic species are much less studied, with at least 300 known species and many times that number undescribed. The Ologamasidae are very abundant and diverse in litter and soil habitats (Lee 1970, 1973), the Macrochelidae are abundant in decomposing organic matter such as dung and compost, and other conspicuous families are the Ascidae, Laelapidae, Leptolaelapidae and Parasitidae.

The Cohort Uropodina comprises about seven families of fungivores and nematode predators, which are very abundant and diverse in forest litter. The world fauna includes hundreds of species, but the exact number is difficult to estimate due to the chaotic state of the taxonomy. Most Australian species are here placed in the families Uropodidae, Urodinychidae, Trachyuropodidae and Trigonuropodidae. The Australian fauna includes about 70 known species, but many times that number of species exist in collections.

The Cohort Trigynaspida is a group of 25 families, of mostly large mites, which have varying degrees of symbiotic association with soil insects. Some species are phoretic, and others occur in insect nests and burrows. They seem to be especially diverse in association with carabid and passalid beetles. The known Australian fauna is currently 33 species, but no systematic research has been done on them in the last 30 years. The degree of intimacy of their association with insects guarantees that there is a very large endemic fauna.

The Mesostigmata also includes soil mites in the Cohorts Arctacarina, Zerconina, and Epicriina, which are not known from Australia. The only possible exception is the record of an unidentified Epicriid by Noble et al. (1996), but this record cannot be confirmed.

It is a sobering experience to attempt to identify a group of Australian mites for which our knowledge is reasonably complete and in which most specimens belong to described species and can be identified using published sources with some degree of confidence. Only the ticks fall into this category, but even there new species are still being described, and using the existing identification keys is a challenge to the non-specialist. Future research in Australian systematic acarology will not be hampered by a lack of opportunities.

Acknowledgements

This checklist and biliography, derived from the published checklist of Halliday (1998), was converted from the original text files into the Platypus relational database package and edited by Ms Kathy Tsang and Dr Keith Houston, Australian Biological Resources Study. The Web files were generated automatically from the Platypus package.

During the preparation of the original version of this list, I received support from research assistants, among them Tracy Harwood, Alison Roach and Kathleen Strong, who shared some of the burden of long hours in the library. Many people have examined and used preliminary versions of the Checklist of various families, and I thank those colleagues for their scrutiny. Mike Gray of the Australian Museum, Sydney, generously allowed me to borrow the card index bibliography of Australian Acarina prepared by Anthony Musgrave. I also thank the many colleagues who granted me access to their reprint collections and unpublished bibliographic data sources, and who helped me in the search for old and rare publications.

I am especially grateful to those people who generously gave their time to read and check parts of the Checklist during the final stages of its preparation - in no special order, Dave Walter, Roy Norton, Matt Colloff, Barry OConnor, Tingkui Qin, Tom Atyeo, Jerry Krantz, Frank Radovsky, David Cook, and Evert Lindquist. All remaining errors are, of course, my exclusive responsibility.

Finally, I offer very special thanks to the staff of the CSIRO Black Mountain Library, who cheerfully performed heroic feats in obtaining rare books and obscure journals in response to my endless inter-library loan requests. It has been a genuine pleasure to work with these people, and this project would not have been possible without their tireless and good-natured support.

Database Notes

Types of data included

The subject matter of this work is names and literature, not species or specimens. No information is given on the origin or lodgement of types or other specimens, or any aspects of the biology of the species. This information can be obtained from the references listed. No types (or any other specimens) have been examined, and no new taxonomic decisions have been made. It is assumed that the identification of specimens in published work is accurate unless there is published evidence to the contrary. No attempt is made to give comprehensive synonymies at any level. These are left to the authors of revisions, either past or future. Synonyms are included only if they have Australian relevance, or if they are particularly instructive in some way. Published synonymies are assumed to be accurate unless there is published evidence to the contrary.

There is no section containing species or other taxa of uncertain status or taxonomic position (incertae sedis). I have placed every taxon in the classification to the best of my ability. This includes cases in which, for example, the placement of a species in a genus is obviously wrong. In these cases, species are listed in the genus in which they were placed in the most recent taxonomic work in which they appear. I have refrained from taking action to correct these placements because that would oblige me to make taxonomic decisions that would not be possible without examining types. Also, a policy of listing some species as incertae sedis would have forced me to decide which species are incertae sedis and which are not. I may have been able to make this distinction in the families of Mesostigmata in which I have personal research experience, but I am certainly not able to do so in all mite groups. Wherever possible I have drawn attention to these cases in explanatory notes. I ask colleagues to forgive me for some of the uncomfortable placements that result from this policy. My intention was to draw attention to the existence of these names, in the hope that subsequent revisers of the genera concerned will be encouraged to take some decisive action to resolve the ambiguities.

The Checklist data for most families is supplemented by a section containing records of mites identified only to the genus or family level. The main purpose of this section is to draw attention to these records so that authors of subsequent revisions can identify potential sources of specimens, and to (tentatively) record the occurrence of some genera and families in Australia that are not represented by identified species. This information is sometimes based on authoritative identifications by taxonomic specialists, sometimes not, and so cannot necessarily be accepted as reliable. For this reason, I have not provided full bibliographic detail for the genera that appear here without appearing in the main Checklist, and I have not attempted to resolve any taxonomic or nomenclatural problems that might be involved. I leave these tasks to be carried out in the future, when the specimens have been re-examined and incorporated into formal taxonomic works. Also, the mention of a genus by one author in this section does not necessarily refer to the same species as that referred to by another author.

Literature cited for a species described from elsewhere includes the paper in which the species was described, regardless of its country of origin, at least one paper dealing with the occurrence of the species in Australia (more than one if possible), and some reference to literature on its taxonomy and biology, whatever its origin.

The amount of literature cited will inevitably vary from species to species. The number of papers cited for each species is enough to outline its nomenclatural history and show significant subsequent references. In the case of species that have both a complex synonymy and an extensive literature, some selection has been made.

The bibliography does not pretend to be exhaustive. Modern and more substantial works are preferred over older and slighter works. In general terms I have attempted to provide a list of publications on each species that includes the sorts of information that would be useful to people working on its taxonomy, economic importance, general biology, and systematics in the broad sense. The coverage is inevitably uneven, for a variety of reasons. The literature for an important pest or beneficial species may include papers on its life cycle and biology, economic importance, and control.

I have made a determined effort to derive data from original publications in every case, not relying on secondary sources. This policy was motivated by the occurrence of errors that are propagated by subsequent authors. Any publications that I have not seen personally are identified in the reference list. It is ironic that this work is itself a secondary source, and any errors I have made may be propagated by subsequent authors. I have made rigorous efforts to minimise the occurrence of such errors, but some have no doubt escaped my attention. I would be very grateful to have errors and omissions brought to my attention.

Sources

The last attempt to compile a list of this sort was that of Rainbow (1906), who listed 102 species of mites known to occur in Australia at that time. Over half of these (54) were parasites of vertebrates, either ticks or feather mites. Interest in parasitic species has continued to dominate acarology in Australia, as it has elsewhere, but more recently the study of these species has been supplemented by work on a growing variety of other groups.

The historical development of the science in this country has been reviewed by Southcott (1982), and his excellent contribution was one of the most valuable sources of information for the present work. Other important sources were Domrow's recent catalogues of the vertebrate parasites (Domrow 1988, 1991, 1992, Domrow & Lester, 1985), Roberts' (1970) review of the ticks, Southcott's (1964) bibliography of the works of H. Womersley, and D. Cook's massive contribution to the water mites (1986).

Anthony Musgrave is well remembered in Australian entomology for (among other things), his Bibliography of Australian Entomology (1932). Musgrave also prepared a card-index catalogue of the Arachnida of Australia, and a typed checklist of the mites, which remained unpublished (closed in about 1955). This material was kindly loaned to me by the Arachnida section of the Australian Museum, Sydney, and formed an extremely valuable means of gaining access to the older literature.

Since this work is essentially the result of a literature search, it is worth giving some account of the literature that was available to me. In the search for records of Australian mites, I searched every paper in every volume of the international acarological journals Acarologia, International Journal of Acarology, Experimental and Applied Acarology, Indian Journal of Acarology, Acarina, Systematic and Applied Entomology, and Acarologie: Schriftenheihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde. I searched the literature on Australian entomology in Australian Journal of Zoology, Australian Journal of Zoology (Supplementary Series), Invertebrate Taxonomy, Journal of the Australian Entomological Society (later re-named Australian Journal of Entomology), and Australian Entomological Magazine (later re-named Australian Entomologist), all the Proceedings of the International Congresses of Acarology, and the complete published works of key authors H. Womersley, R. V. Southcott, D. C. Lee, R. Domrow, E. Schicha, F. H. S. Roberts, M. M. H. Wallace, and A. Berlese, and the many thousands of books and papers in the library of the acarology laboratory of the Australian National Insect Collection.

Theses, PhD and others, are a type of literature that offers special challenges to the bibliographer. Any new taxonomic names published only in a thesis are, of course, explicitly excluded from availability by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. On the other hand, there are undoubtedly many theses that contain valuable biological information about Australian mites, taxonomic decisions and re-arrangements, and records of the occurrence of species that have not appeared in the formal literature. I have made use of some theses that came to hand in one way or another, but I have certainly overlooked others. I mean no disrespect to the authors of these theses; my failure to use them is usually just a reflection of the fact that I was not aware of their existence.

These sources were supplemented by reference to Zoological Record and other indexing sources such as Entomology Abstracts. My use of these latter sources was extensive but did not, I regret, include a comprehensive search of every reference in every issue. The resulting list is as complete as I can make it with the available resources. Nevertheless it is inevitable that I have overlooked some species. I would be most grateful if users of this list would point out to me the errors and omissions so I can correct them. It is also inevitable that in many thousands of key strokes I have introduced some typographical errors of my own, and once again, I would welcome the opportunity to correct these once they are brought to my attention.

Limital Area

The geographical area covered in this checklist includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, and the in-shore continental islands inside the 200 m contour of ocean depth. The islands of Bass Strait are included, as are the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

The area covered also includes the Torres Strait Islands south of 10 degrees south latitude. This does not correspond to the political border of Australia, which approaches very close to the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. It excludes the islands of Boigu, Dauan and Saibai, which are politically part of Australia, but are only a few kilometres off the Papua New Guinea coast. This issue only arises in the case of one species, Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman, which occurs on Dauan and Saibai, but not on the Australian mainland or the islands south of 10 degrees south latitude.

The offshore oceanic territories are also excluded (that is, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, the sub-Antarctic islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory), despite the fact that these are under the political administration of Australia. It should also be noted that the term "Australia" has sometimes been used in the literature in a loose sense that roughly approximates to the Australian biogeographic realm. It sometimes includes New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, New Zealand, and some of the other islands of the Pacific Ocean, all of which are excluded from the present survey.

Distribution data for has not been compiled for this group.

 

Excluded Taxa

IXODIDAE: Dermacentor atrosignatus Neumann, 1906, see Roberts, F.H.S. 1970. Australian Ticks. Melbourne : CSIRO 267 pp. (Dermacentor atrosignatus was described by Neumann (1906) as probably Australian in origin, and this opinion was repeated by Neumann, L.G. 1911. Ixodidae. Das Tierreich 26: 1–169 (Reprinted 1966 by Verlag von J. Cramer, Weinheim) and Fielding, J.W. 1926. Australasian ticks. Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health, Service Publication (Tropical Division) 9: 1–114. However, this species is now considered as not being present in Australia by Roberts. see also Roberts, F.H.S. 1970. Australian Ticks. Melbourne : CSIRO pp. 267.; Wassef, H.Y. & Hoogstraal, H. 1984. Dermacentor (Indocentor) atrosignatus (Acari : Ixodoidea : Ixodidae) Identity of male and female. Journal of Medical Entomology 21: 586–591 and Estrada-Peña, A. 1989. Index-Catalog of the Ticks (Acarina : Ixodoidea) in the world. Volume 1 : Genus Haemaphysalis. Spain : Universidad de Zaragoza pp. 932..).

URODINYCHIDAE: Urodinychus polyphemus Vitzthum, 1935, see Vitzthum, H.G. 1935. Terrestriche Acarinen von den Society-Inseln. Bulletin of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum 113: 149-156.

IXODIDAE: Dermacentor variabilis Say, 1821, see Halliday, R.B., this work (Dermacentor variabilis was recorded from a living specimen in Canberra, after it had apparently been brought from USA on a passenger aircraft (see Halliday, R.B. & Sutherst, R.W. 1990. An Australian record of the American Dog Tick Dermacentor variabilis, and the risk of its establishment outside North America. Experimental and Applied Acarology 8: 65–70. However, the species has not become established in Australia.).

 

Links

Halliday, R.B. 1998. Mites of Australia : A Checklist and Bibliography. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing pp. 317., on which this electronic version is based, is available from CSIRO Publishing, PO Box 1139, Collingwood VIC Australia 3066; E-mail: sales@publish.csiro.au

 

General References

Amrine, J.W. & Stasny, T.A. 1994. Catalog of the Eriophyoidea (Acarina: Prostigmata) of the World. Michigan : Indira Publishing House 798 pp.

Cook, D.R. 1986. Water mites from Australia. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 40: 1-568

Domrow, R. 1988. Acari Mesostigmata parasitic on Australian vertebrates: an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 1: 817-948

Domrow, R. 1991. Acari Prostigmata (excluding Trombiculidae) parasitic on Australian vertebrates : an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 4: 1238-1376

Domrow, R. 1992. Acari Astigmata (excluding feather mites) parasitic on Australian vertebrates: an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 6: 1459-1606

Domrow, R. & Lester, L.N. 1985. Chiggers of Australia (Acari : Trombiculidae) an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series 114: 1-111

Gaud, J. & Atyeo, W.T. 1996. Feather mites of the world (Acarina, Astigmata) The supraspecific taxa. Annales du Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale Tervuren Belgique 277: Pt I, 1-193, Pt II, 1-436

Gutierrez, J. & Schicha, E. 1983. The spider mite family Tetranychidae (Acari) in New South Wales. International Journal of Acarology 9: 99-116

Halliday, R.B. 1998. Mites of Australia : A Checklist and Bibliography. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 317 pp.

Halliday, R.B. 2000. Additions and corrections to Mites of Australia: A Checklist and Bibliography. Australian Journal of Entomology 39: 233-235

Hughes, A.M. 1976. The Mites of Stored Food and Houses. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Technical Bulletin. London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office Vol. 9 400 pp.

Lee, D.C. 1970. The Rhodacaridae (Acari : Mesostigmata); classification, external morphology and distribution of genera. Records of the South Australian Museum 16(3): 1-219

Lee, D.C. 1973. Rhodacaridae (Acari : Mesostigmata) from near Adelaide, Australia. I. Systematics. Records of the South Australian Museum 16(14): 1-36

Lindquist, E.E., Sabelis, M.W. & Bruin, J. (eds) 1996. Eriophyoid mites. Their Biology, Natural Enemies and Control. Amsterdam : Elsevier 790 pp.

Musgrave, A. 1932. Bibliography of Australian Entomology, 1775-1930, with Biographical Notes on Authors and Collectors. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 380 pp.

Niedbała, W. & Colloff, M.J. 1997. Euptyctime oribatid mites from Tasmanian rainforest (Acari: Oribatida). Journal of Natural History 31: 489-538

Noble, J.C., Whitford, W.G. & Kaliszewski, M. 1996. Soil and litter microarthropod populations from two contrasting ecosystems in semi-arid eastern Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 32: 329-346

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Otto, J.C. 1999b. The taxonomy of Tarsotomus Berlese and Paratarsotomus Kuzntezov (Acarina: Anystidae: Erythracarinae) with observations on the natural history of Tarsotomus. Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 749-803

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