An opilioacarid mite in Cretaceous Burmese amber

Dunlop, Jason A.; Bernardi, Leopoldo Ferreira de Oliveira

doi:10.1007/s00114-014-1212-0

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…All of these phylogenies suggest a large gap in the fossil record for Parasitiformes, since the oldest parasitiform mites, ticks and Opilioacarida, were discovered in Burmese amber from the Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) [ 39 – 42 ]. By contrast, acariform mites are known from the early Devonian (ca.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin and higher-level diversification of acariform mites – evidence from nuclear ribosomal genes, extensive taxon sampling, and secondary structure alignment

Pepato

Klimov

2015

BMC Evol Biol

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BackgroundAcariformes is the most species-rich and morphologically diverse radiation of chelicerate arthropods, known from the oldest terrestrial ecosystems. It is also a key lineage in understanding the evolution of this group, with the most vexing question whether mites, or Acari (Parasitiformes and Acariformes) is monophyletic. Previous molecular studies recovered Acari either as monophyletic or non-monophyletic, albeit with a limited taxon sampling. Similarly, relationships between basal acariform groups (include little-known, deep-soil 'endeostigmatan' mites) and major lineages of Acariformes (Sarcoptiformes, Prostigmata) are virtually unknown. We infer phylogeny of chelicerate arthropods, using a large and representative dataset, comprising all main in- and outgroups (228 taxa). Basal diversity of Acariformes is particularly well sampled. With this dataset, we conduct a series of phylogenetically explicit tests of chelicerate and acariform relationships and present a phylogenetic framework for internal relationships of acariform mites.ResultsOur molecular data strongly support a diphyletic Acari, with Acariformes as the sister group to Solifugae (PP =1.0; BP = 100), the so called Poecilophysidea. Among Acariformes, some representatives of the basal group Endeostigmata (mainly deep-soil mites) were recovered as sister-groups to the remaining Acariformes (i. e., Trombidiformes + and most of Sarcoptiformes). Desmonomatan oribatid mites (soil and litter mites) were recovered as the monophyletic sister group of Astigmata (e. g., stored product mites, house dust mites, mange mites, feather and fur mites). Trombidiformes (Sphaerolichida + Prostigmata) is strongly supported (PP =1.0; BP = 98–100). Labidostommatina was inferred as the basal lineage of Prostigmata. Eleutherengona (e. g., spider mites) and Parasitengona (e. g., chiggers, fresh water mites) were recovered as monophyletic. By contrast, Eupodina (e. g., snout mites and relatives) was not. Marine mites (Halacaridae) were traditionally regarded as the sister-group to Bdelloidea (Eupodina), but our analyses show their close relationships to Parasitengona.ConclusionsNon-trivial relationships recovered by our analyses with high support (i.e., basal arrangement of endeostigmatid lineages, the position of marine mites, polyphyly of Eupodina) had been proposed by previous underappreciated morphological studies. Thus, we update currently the accepted taxonomic classification to reflect these results: the superfamily Halacaroidea Murray, 1877 is moved from the infraorder Eupodina Krantz, 1978 to Anystina van der Hammen, 1972; and the subfamily Erythracarinae Oudemans, 1936 (formerly in Anystidae Oudemans, 1902) is elevated to family rank, Erythracaridae stat. ressur., leaving Anystidae only with the nominal subfamily. Our study also shows that a clade comprising early derivative Endeostigmata (Alycidae, Nanorchestidae, Nematalycidae, and maybe Alicorhagiidae) should be treated as a taxon with the same rank as Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes, and the scope of th...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin and higher-level diversification of acariform mites – evidence from nuclear ribosomal genes, extensive taxon sampling, and secondary structure alignment

Pepato

Klimov

2015

BMC Evol Biol

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“…Asia, Australia, and in the New World from the southern tier of states of the United States in the north to Uruguay in the south (Silvestri 1905;Redikorzev 1937;Chamberlin & Mulaik 1942;André 1947;Naudo 1963;Hammen 1977;Juvara-Bals & Baltac 1977;Lehtinen 1980;Leclerc 1989;Walter & Proctor 1998;Vázquez & Klompen 2002;Das & Bastawade 2006(2007; Vázquez & Klompen 2009, 2010Bernardi et al 2012;Vázquez et al 2014). Superficially the notion that the group is limited to warm temperate and tropical regions was challenged by the discovery of two fossil species in Baltic amber (Dunlop et al 2004;Dunlop et al 2008), but it is worth noting that the climate in Europe in the Eocene was considerably warmer than today. There have been various theories on the origin of Opilioacaridae (Gondwanan or not) (Leclerc 1989;Dunlop & Bernardi 2014), a subject beyond the aims of this study, but the current geographical range of the family suggests a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and warm temperate regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Superficially the notion that the group is limited to warm temperate and tropical regions was challenged by the discovery of two fossil species in Baltic amber (Dunlop et al 2004;Dunlop et al 2008), but it is worth noting that the climate in Europe in the Eocene was considerably warmer than today. There have been various theories on the origin of Opilioacaridae (Gondwanan or not) (Leclerc 1989;Dunlop & Bernardi 2014), a subject beyond the aims of this study, but the current geographical range of the family suggests a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and warm temperate regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The family Opilioacaridae (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida) in Mexico, description of two new species and notes on biology and geographical distribution

Vázquez

Klompen

2015

Zootaxa

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Two new species of Opilioacaridae from Mexico are described, Neocarus chactemalensis sp. nov. and N. comalensis sp. nov., and new records for N. texanus Chamberlin & Mulaik and N. veracruzensis Vazquez & Klompen are presented. Relative positions of internal structures of the ovipositor, a highly variable character, are described based on comparisons of invaginated and evaginated ovipositors. A study of records of Opilioacaridae in Mexico shows that the group is distributed across a wide range of ecosystems and elevations, from dry, semi-desert to wet tropical forest, and coastal plains to the altiplano (>2,000 m).

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“…Most arachnid species described so far are spiders (Penney, 2003(Penney, , 2004(Penney, , 2005Wunderlich, 2008Wunderlich, , 2012aWunderlich, , 2015aPoinar and Buckley, 2012), but Burmese amber is also now yielding significant records of less frequently encountered arachnid groups. For parasitiform mites these include an opilioacarid (Dunlop and Bernardi, 2014) and two hard ticks (Poinar and Brown, 2003;Poinar and Buckley, 2008). For acariform mites the heterostigmatan family Resinacaridae was added by Khaustov and Poinar (2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%