Brachypylina (Euoribatida, Circumdehiscentiae)

Superorder Acariformes

Order Oribatida

Supercohort Desmonomatides: Cohort Brachypylina

 

Common names: oribatid mites, beetle mites, armored mites, moss mites

 

Probability of Encounter: high

 

Quarantine importance: Low.  Only a few species have been associated with minor damage to plants, probably mostly in association with fungal damage, and none are parasites of vertebrates.  Some species have the potential to vector the propagules of plant pathogens or to serve as intermediate hosts of tapeworms.

 

Diagnosis.  Beetle-like oribatid mites usually tan to dark brown in color and completely encased in armor; with or without pteromorphs; with or without piled scalps; notogastral shield separated from prodorsal-ventral shielding by line of dehiscence (circumgastric furrow).  Most species have a well-developed pair of prodorsal trichobothria.  Brachypyline, 3 (rarely seemingly 2) pairs of genital papillae; well developed ovipositor in the female, spermatophoric organ in the male.  Subcapitulum often diarthric, sometimes with mental tectum or suctorial.  Body lengths range from about 0.15 to 2.0 mm or more.  Males are usually about half the body mass of the females, lack ovipositors, and have a smaller genital opening in which a spermatophoric organ often can be discerned.

 

Similar taxa.  Adult brachypyline oribatid mites could be confused with other fully armored mites in the Prostigmata (Labidostommatides, Scutacaridae), Mesostigmata (Uropodidae, Ologamasidae, Eviphididae), or the hypopi of the Astigmatina, but none of these will have a single pair of prodorsal trichobothria (2 pairs in Labidostommatides).

 

Ecology & Distribution.  About 10,000 species of oribatid mites have been described and they occur everywhere, but generally limit their activities to grazing on algae, fungi, detritus, and the small invertebrates (e.g. nematodes, rotifers, tardigrades) that inhabit microbial mats and detritus.  Many brachypylines occur on vegetation, especially on the bark and twigs of trees with epiphytes and in suspended soils, but these appear to be primarily fungivore-scavengers.

 

References

Allred, D.M. 1954.  Mites as intermediate hosts of tapeworms.  Proc. Utah Acad Sci. 31: 44-51.

Balogh J.  1972.  The Oribatid Genera of the World (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest) pp 1-188 + Plates 1-71.

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh. 1984.  A review of the Oribatuloidea Thor, 1929 (Acari: Oribatei).  Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 30: 257-313.

Balogh J & Balogh P. (1988).  Oribatid Mites of the Neotropical Region. Volume I, 335 pp., volume II, 333 pp. (Elsevier, Amsterdam).

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh. 1988.  Oribatid Mites of the Neotropical Region I. Elsevier, Amsterdam: 335 pp.

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh. 1990. Oribatid mites of the Neotropical Region II. Elsevier, Amsterdam,  333 pp.

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh. 1992.  The Oribatid Mites Genera of the World.  The Hungarian Nat. Mus. Press, Budapest, vol. 1: 263 pp.

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh.  2002.  Identification Keys to the Oribatid mites of the Extra-Holarctic Regions.  Well Press Publ., Ltd., Budapest, vol. I: 451 pp; Vol. II: 504 pp. 

Behan-Pelletier, V.M. 1993. Eremaeidae (Acari: Oribatida) of North America.  Mem. Entomol. Soc. Canada 168: 1-193.

Behan-Pelletier V.M. 2000.  Ceratozetidae (Acari: Oribatida) of arboreal habitats. Can. Entomol.  132: 153-182.  

Behan-Pelletier, V.M. and B. Bissett. 1994. Oribatida of Canadian peatlands.  Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can. 169: 73-88.

Colloff M & Halliday B.  1998.  Oribatid Mites.  A Catalogue of Australian Genera and Species.  Monograph on Invertebrate Taxonomy Vol. 6.  CSIRO Publications: Melbourne.

Del Fosse E.S., H.L. Cromroy and D.H. Habek. 1975. Determination of the feeding mechanism of the waterhyacinth mite.  Hyacinth Contr. J. 13: 53-55. 

Denegri, G.M. 1993. Review of oribatid mites as intermediate hosts of the Anoplocephalidae.  Exp. Appl. Acarol. 17: 567-580.

Denegri, G., W. Bernadina, J. Perez-Serrano and F. Rodriguez-Caabeiro. 1998. Anoplocephalid cestodes of veterinary and medical significance: a review.  Folia Parasitol. 45: 1-8

Denegri, G.M., M.C. Elissondo and M.C. Dopchiz. 2002.  Oribatid mites as intermediate hosts of Thysanosoma actinioides (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae): A preliminary study.  Vet. Parasitol. 103: 267‑271.

Fain, A. and L. Lambrechts. 1987. Observations on the acarofauna of fish aquariums. I. Mites associated with Discus fish.  Bull. Annls. Soc. roy. Belg. Entomol., 123: 87-102.

Fain, A., L. Lambrechts and G. Wauthy. 1988. Observations on the acarofauna of fish aquariums. III. Presence of Hydrozetes lemnae (Coggi, 1899) in aquariums in Belgium.  Bull. Annls. Soc. roy. belge Entomol. 124: 255-256. 

Fritz, G.N. 1995. Oribatid mites infected with cysticercoids of Moniezia expansa (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae).  Internat. J. Acarol. 21: 233-238.

Fujikawa, T. 1991.   List of Oribatid families and genera of the world. Edaphologia 46: 1-123.

Fujikawa, T., M. Fujita and J. Aoki. 1993.  Checklist of Oribatid mites of Japan (Acari: Oribatida).  J. Acarol. Soc. Japan 2 (supplement 1):1-121

Gilyarov MS & Krivolutsky DA (eds)  1975.  Handbook for the Identification of Soil-inhabiting Mites, Sarcoptiformes.  Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences: Petrograd [In Russian]

Hunt G, Colloff MJ, Dallwitz M, Kelly J. & Walter DE.  1998.  An Interactive Key to the Oribatid Mites of Australia.  CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.  (Compact Disk and User Guide)

Luxton M.  1985.  Cryptostigmata (Arachnida: Acari) – a concise review. Fauna of New Zealand 7: 1-106.

Luxton, M. 1996. Oribatid mites of the British Isles - a checklist and notes on biogeography (Acari, Oribatida).  J. Nat. Hist., 30(6): 803-822.

McClure, M.S. 1995. Diapterobates humeralis (Oribatida: Ceratozetidae): an effective control agent of hemlock woolly adelgid (Homoptera: Adelgidae) in Japan.  Envir. Entomol. 24: 1207-1215.

Nannelli R., T.Turchetti and  G. Maresi. 1998.  Corticolous mites (Acari) as potential vectors of Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr hypovirulent strains.  Internat. J. Acarol. 24: 237-244.

Niemi, R., E. Karppinen and M. Uusitalo. 1997. Catalogue of the Oribatida of Finland. Acta Zool. Fenn. 207: 1-39.

Subías, L.S. and P. Balogh. 1989. Identification keys to the genera of Oppiidae Grandjean, 1951 (Acari: Oribatei).  Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 35: 355-412.