Mesostigmata

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Taxonomy

updated 2025

Diagnostic characters

• Female with 3–4 pairs of setae on the sternal shield (st1 in membranous or st4 off shield)
• Dorsal shield entire in female (entire or divided in male; divided in deutonymph); setae j1, z1 and j2 minute; scleronoduli absent.
• Tibia I and genu I each with 5/3 or 5/2 dorsal/ventral setae 12 or 11 setae total); genu IV with 6 setae.
• Sperm induction pore usually on leg III
• Tectum with or with median subdorsal process and a pair of lateral tines
• Deutonymphs phoretic on insects

Similar taxa

Species of Panteniphis appear to be aberrant Rhodacaroidea referable to Digamasellidae because of their reduced leg setation and sperm induction pore on leg III. Adults are strongly hemispherical in shape, but unlike somewhat similar Dendrolaelaspis species, lack posterior horn-like processes and have an entire dorsal shield.

Ecology and distribution

Deutonymphs are phoretic on carabid beetles. Adults are free-living in soil. Known distribution: Europe, North America, and Africa.

References

• Gwaiazdowicz 2000Gwaiazdowicz 2000:
  Gwiazdowicz DJ. 2000. Description of deutonymph of Panteniphis mirandus (Acari: Rhodacaridae) from Poland. Biologia (Bratislava) 55: 465–470.
• Hurlbutt 1975Hurlbutt 1975:
  Hurlbutt HW. 1975. The systematic position of Panteniphis africanus (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Acarologia 14: 36–42.
• Kethley 1983aKethley 1983a:
  Kethley J. 1983a. The deutonymph of Epiphis rarior Berlese, 1916 (Epiphidinae n. subfam., Rhodacaridae, Rhodacaroidea). Canadian Journal of Zoology 61: 2598–2611.
• Willmann 1949Willmann 1949:
  Willmann C. 1949. Über eine Milbenausbeute aus dem Naturschutzgebiet Verlorenes Wasser bei Panten (Kr. Liegnitz). Abhandlungen Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein zu Bremen 32: 339–358.