Is it a mite?

t

Common names

proturans

Probability of encounter

medium

Quarantine importance

No known importance.

Similarity to mites

None, other than small size and lack of antennae. Unlike mites, proturans are clearly segmented.

Morphology

Normal adult length: <2 mm
Bodybody:
the idiosoma of mites.
tagmata: head, thorax, abdomen (9–12 segments, styli on S1-3, cerci absent)
Eyes: absent (pseudoculi present)
Antennae: absent
Mouthparts: entognathous, mandibles stylettiformstylettiform:
stylet-like.
, maxillary palps (3-seg.) and labial palps (1-seg.) present.
Legs: 3 thoracic pairs (5 segments), legs I sensory, legs II-III ambulatory; single clawclaw:
like - having a distal hook; resembling a claw.
+ ventralventral:
relating to the lower or under side; opposed to dorsal.
empodium.

Comments: Proturans lack antennae, but have antenniform front legs. Their abdomens are long and composed of numerous segments (added developmentally). The first 3 segments have small styli, but no collophore or furcula is present. They are common in soil and humus, especially in forest systems.

Diversity

ca. 500 species in 4–8 families

References

• Copeland and Imadaté 1990Copeland and Imadaté 1990:
  Copeland TP, Imadaté G. 1990. Insecta: Protura. pp. 911–933. In: Dindal DL, ed. Soil biology guide. John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane.
• Imadaté 1991Imadaté 1991:
  Imadaté G. 1991. Protura. pp. 265–268. In: CSIRO, ed. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers, Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
• Meyer and Orr (n.d.-b)Meyer and Orr (n.d.-b):
  Meyer JR, Orr DB. n.d.-b. Protura. North Carolina State University: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Insect Identification. Accessed 2024.
• Nosek 1978Nosek 1978:
  Nosek J. 1978. Key and diagnoses of proturan genera of the world. Annotationes Zoologicae et Botanicae, Bratislava 122: 1–54.
• Nosek 1973Nosek 1973:
  Nosek J. 1973. The European Protura: Their taxonomy, ecology and distribution with keys for determination. Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland. 345 pp.
• Tipping 2023Tipping 2023:
  Tipping C. 2023. IFAS Extension askifas. Proturans Protura spp. (Entognatha: Protura). University of Florida. Publication #EENY043.
• Tree of Life Web Project 2002gTree of Life Web Project 2002g:
  Tree of Life Web Project. 2002. Protura. Version 01 January 2002 (temporary). The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
• Tuxen 1964Tuxen 1964:
  Tuxen SL. 1964. The Protura: A revision of the species of the world with keys for determination. Hermann, Paris. 360 pp.
• Yin 1983Yin 1983:
  Yin W-Y. 1983. Grouping the known genera of Protura under eight families with keys for determination. Contributions from Shanghai Institute of Entomology 3: 151–163.
• Yin 1984Yin 1984:
  Yin W-Y. 1984. A new idea on phylogeny of Protura with approach to its origin and systematic position. Scientia Sinica (Series B) 27: 149–160.