Mesostigmata
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Taxonomy
updated 2025
Name
Ornithonyssus Sambon
Classification
Superorder Parasitiformes » Order Mesostigmata » Suborder Monogynaspida » Infraorder Gamasina » Hyporder Dermanyssiae » Superfamily Dermanyssoidea » Family Macronyssidae » Genus Ornithonyssus
Diagnostic characters
- Grey-brown to red (when blood engorged) or black parasitic dermanyssine mesostigmatans with tapering holodorsal shields
- Sternal shield entire to eroded sternal shield bearing 1–3 pairs of setae; genital shield tongue- or knife-shaped genital shield with 0–1 pairs of setae.
- Anal shield small, with 3 circumanal setae; some ventral and lateral hypertrichy present
- Tarsus I with claws; trochanter I with 6 setae; tibia and genu I each with 6/3 dorsal/ ventral setae; genu IV with 5/2 dorsal/ ventral.
- Chelicerae elongate and edentate; movable digit without excrescences. Palp genu with 6 setae, palp apotele 2-tined; corniculi membranous.
- Tritosternum biflagellate with denticulate membranous margin in soil genera
- Tectum smooth or slightly denticulate
Similar taxa
Laelapid mites are similar, but lack the expanded margins of the tritosternal laciniae and have well developed corniculi (horn- to bayonet-shaped).
Ecology and distribution
Macronyssids are parasites of birds, mammals and reptiles, but they often leave their hosts to lay eggs in soil and crevices around dens, burrows and nests. The tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti, builds up large populations on feral mice and infests native mammals as well. The tropical fowl mite, Ornithonyssus bursa, infests a variety of introduced and native birds and is the most common source of human bites by mites in Brisbane; O. sylviarum causes similar problems in more temperate regions.
References
- Domrow 1988Domrow 1988:
Domrow R. 1988. Acari Mesostigmata parasitic on Australian vertebrates: An annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 1: 817–948.
- Evans and Till 1979Evans and Till 1979:
Evans EO, Till WM. 1979. Mesostigmatic mites of Britain and Ireland (Chelicerata: Acari-Parasitiformes): An introduction to their external morphology and classification. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 35 (2): 145–270.
- Krantz 1978Krantz 1978:
Krantz GW. 1978. A manual of acarology [2nd ed.]. Oregon State University Book Stores, Corvallis.
