Endeostigmata

t

Taxonomy

Diagnosis

Prodorsum with 1 pair of filiform trichobothria (sci) and 5 pairs of setae; naso well developed and bearing setae vi; median and lateral eyes absent. Subcapitulum with 6 pairs of setae; rutella slender, with distal teeth; chelicerae chelate-dentate, each with one seta. Opisthosomal setal rows C–D–E–F–H–PS–AD–AN with 4–2–2–3–3–3–4–4 pairs of setae, respectively; PA absent. Genital flaps with 7–10 pairs of setae in 2 rows; 2–3 pairs of genital papillae in adult. All pretarsi with a simple, claw-like empodium; lateral claws absent. Gut boluses composed of fungal hyphae, spores, and bits of small, soft-bodied invertebrates.

Remarks

Alicorhagia fragilis is omnivorous and readily preys on nematodes. Larvae, protonymphs and deutonymphs spin silken webs before moulting (tritonymphs do not occur). The thelytokous females spin silken webs on which the eggs are laid and hatch into an elattostatic prelarva (Walter 1988cWalter 1988c:
Walter DE. 1988c. Predation and mycophagy by endeostigmatid mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata). Experimental and Applied Acarology 4: 159–166.). It’s not clear that the mite so beautifully illustrated by Grandjean is the same as Berlese’s species; however, A. fragilis appears to be widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and A. usitata in the Southern Hemisphere.

References

• Evans 1992Evans 1992:
  Evans GO. 1992. Principles of Acarology. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
• Grandjean 1939Grandjean 1939:
  Grandjean F. 1939. Quelques genres d’acariens appartenant au groupe des Endeostigmata. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie 11 (ser. 2): 1–122.
• Halliday 1998Halliday 1998:
  Halliday B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. Monographs on Invertebrate Taxonomy, Vol. 5. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
• Hirst 1923Hirst 1923:
  Hirst S. 1923. On some arachnid remains from the Old Red Sandstone. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (9th series) 12: 455–474.
• Kethley 1982dKethley 1982d:
  Kethley JB. 1982d. Endeostigmata. pp. 118–120. In: Parker SP, ed. Synopsis and classification of living organisms, Vol. 2. McGraw-Hill, New York.
• Kethley 1990aKethley 1990a:
  Kethley JB. 1990a. Acarina: Prostigmata (Actinedida). pp. 667–756. In: Dindal DL, ed. Soil biology guide. John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane.
• Kethley et al. 1989Kethley et al. 1989:
  Kethley JB, Norton RA, Bonamo PM, Shear WA. 1989. A terrestrial alicorhagiid mite (Acari: Acariformes) from the Devonian of New York. Micropaleontology 35: 367–373.
• Livshits and Mitrofanov 1978aLivshits and Mitrofanov 1978a:
  Livshits IZ, Mitrofanov VI. 1978a. Alicorhagiidae. pp. 97–98. In: Gilyarov MS, ed. Identification key of soil-inhabiting mites, Trombidiformes. Nauka, Moscow.
• Norton et al. 1993Norton et al. 1993:
  Norton RA, Kethley JB, Johnston DE, O'Connor BM. 1993. Phylogenetic perspectives on genetic systems and reproductive modes of mites. pp. 8–99. In: Wrensch DA, Ebbert MA, eds. Evolution and diversity of sex ratio in insects and mites. Chapman and Hall, New York.
• OConnor 1984cOConnor 1984c:
  OConnor BM. 1984c. 1. Speciation and evolution in Acari 1.2 Phylogenetic relationships among higher taxa in the Acariformes, with particular reference to the Astigmata. pp. 19–27. In: Griffiths DA and Bowman CE, eds. Acarology VI, Vol. I. Ellis Horwood Ltd, Chichester.
• Theron et al. 1970Theron et al. 1970:
  Theron PD, Meyer MKP, Ryke PAJ. 1970. The family Alicorhagiidae Grandjean (Acari: Trombidiformes) with descriptions of a new genus and species from South African soils. Acarologia 12: 668–676.
• Walter 1988cWalter 1988c:
  Walter DE. 1988c. Predation and mycophagy by endeostigmatid mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata). Experimental and Applied Acarology 4: 159–166.
• Walter and Proctor 1999Walter and Proctor 1999:
  Walter DE, Proctor HC. 1999. Mites: Ecology, evolution and behaviour. University of NSW Press, Sydney and CABI, Wallingford. 494 pp.
• Zacharda 1978Zacharda 1978:
  Zacharda M. 1978. Terrestrial prostigmatic mites from the Amateur’s Cave, the Moravian Kars, Czechoslovakia. Vestnik Ceskoslovnské Spolecnosti Zoologické 42: 215–240.