Mixonomatides (Mixonomata)

Superorder Acariformes

   Order Sarcoptiformes

      Suborder Oribatida

          Supercohort Mixonomatides – (Nehypochthonioidea, Eulohmannioidea, Perlohmannioidea, Epilohmannioidea, Collohmannioidea, Phthiracaroidea, Euphthiracaroidea)

 

Common names: box mites, eulohmanniid, epilohmanniid & perlohmanniid oribatid mites

 

Probability of Encounter: low

 

Quarantine importance: No known quarantine importance.

 

Diagnosis.  Brown, reddish, beige or yellowish dichoid or ptychoid (Phthiracaroidea, Euphthiracaroidea) oribatid mites with the capitulum withdrawn within a camerostome.  Notogastral shield entire; ventral plate sometimes divided (Epilohmannia) or incised (Eulohmannia); discrete aggenital plates present (Epilohmannia, Perlohmannia, box mites).  Macropyline, genital valves sometimes divided (Perlohmannia); 3 pairs of genital papillae.  Palps with 2-5 free segments.  Lateral opisthonotall glands present or absent.

 

Similar taxa.  Some Enarthronota (Mesoplophoridae, Protoplophoridae) resemble true box mites, but lack the elongate genital and anal valves.  Some Nothrina (e.g. Nanhermaniidae) are superficially similar to Epilohmanniidae and Eulohmanniidae but have an incised, rather than split ventral shield and are holoid rather than dichoid.

 

Ecology & Distribution.  Box mites occur in most litter habitats and range in size from fairly small to very large.  They often burrow in woody litter and are also frequently found on bark.  Perlohmannia are large, more or less dorso-ventrally flattened mites.  Collohmannia are not flattened and are one of the few oribatid mites known to have direct contact between the sexes during mating.  Epilohmannia are subcylindrical and reasonably common.  Eulohmannia are relatively small and seem characteristic of disturbed soils.

 

References

Balogh, J. and P. Balogh.  1987.  Identification keys of the ptychoid Mixonomata of the Neotropical region (Acari, Oribatei). Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 33: 1-36.

Colloff, M. J. and Niedbala, W. 1996. Arboreal and terrestrial habitats of phthiracaroid mites (Oribatida) in Tasmanian rainforests. pp. 607-612 In Mitchell, R., Horn, D. J., Needham, G. R. and Welbourn, C. (eds). 1996. Acarology IX, volume 1. (Ohio Biological Survey, Columbus).

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

Fujikawa, T. and J. Aoki. 1969.  Notes on two species of the genus Perlohmannia Berlese (Acari, Perlohmanniidae). Taxonomic notes on Oribatid mites of Hokkaido. II.  Annot. Zool. Japon. 42: 220-225.

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).

Lee DC.  1982.  Sarcoptiformes (Acari) of South Australian soils. 3. Arthronotina (Cryptostigmata). Records of the South Australian Museum 18: 327-359.

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

Niedbała, W.  1992.  Phthiracaroidea, Acari, Oribatida.  Elsevier  PWN  Polish Scientific Studies, Amsterdam,Warsaw: 612 pp.

Niedbała, W.  2000.  The ptyctimous mites fauna of the Oriental and Australian regions and their centres of origin (Acari: Oribatida). Genus (Wrocław), Supplement: 1-493.

Niedbała, W.  2002.  Ptyctimous mites (Acari, Oribatida) of the Nearctic region. Monogr. Upper Silesian Mus. 4: 1-261.

Niedbala W & Colloff MJ.  1997.  Euptyctime oribatid mites from Tasmanian rainforest (Acari: Oribatida). Journal of Natural History 31: 489-538.

Shtanchaeva, U. Ya.  1996.  The world fauna of oribatid mites of the family Epilohmanniidae.  Zool. Zhur.  75:516-531.