Taxonomic Position

Cohort Uropodina

    Subcohort Uropodiae

    Superfamily Thinozerconoidea Trägårdh

Family Protodinychidae Evans

Protodinychus Evans 

Diagnostic characters

• Uropodine mesostigmatans with a large central dorsal shield

• Pygidial free or fused to dorsal shield

• Peritrematal shields large

• Scabellum and pedofossae absent. 

• Peritremes linear, extending to coxa I. 

• Mesogynal shield narrow and weakly attached to strap-like latigynial shields bearing st5. 

• Metapodal elements incorporated into peritrematal shields. 

• Anal opening in small ventrianal shield that captures one pair of ventral setae; 3 circumanal setae. 

• Legs I with ambulacra, coxae I cylindrical, widely separate; coxae IV with 2 pairs of setae. 

• Chelicerae elongate, apparently raptorial, bearing pilus dentilis and 3 membranous, mushroom-like structures; deutosternal groove crowded with few denticles per row.

Similar taxa. 

Ecology.   Protodinychus have been collected in lakeside debris, pastures, and in beaver lodges (with deutonymphs phoretic on beaver beetles).

References

Ainscough, BD.  1981.  Uropodine studies. I. Suprageneric classification in the cohort Uropodina Kramer, 1882 (Acari: Mesostigmata).  International Journal of Acarology 7:47-56.

Athias-Binch, F. & Evans, GO.  1981.  Observations on the genus Protodinychus Evans, 1957 (Acari: Mesostigmata) with descriptions of the male and phoretic deuteronymph.  Proc. R. Ir. Acad. 81b: 25-36.

Evans EO and 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.

Gilyarov MS & Bregatova NG (eds).  1977.  Handbook for the Identification of Soil-inhabiting Mites, Mesostigmata.  Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences: Petrograd [In Russian]

Johnson, DE.  1961.  A review of the lower uropodid mites (former Thinozerconoidea, Protodinychoidea and Trachytoidea) with notes on the classification of the Uropodina (Acarina).  Acarologia 3: 522-545.

Krantz, GW & Ainscough, B.  1990.  Mesostigmata.  pp. 583-665, in DL Dindal (ed) Soil Biology Guide.  John Wiley & Sons: Brisbane.