<span lang="EN">Catalogue of the mite family Rhodacaridae Oudemans, with notes on the classification of the Rhodacaroidea (Acari: Mesostigmata)</span>

Abstract

The Rhodacaridae Oudemans are free-living, cosmopolitan, edaphic mites, generally reported in the literature aspredators. The taxonomic concept of the family has changed considerably over time, making it very difficult for non-taxonomists and even sometimes for taxonomists to decide on the correct placement of many species. A historic reviewof the literature on the classification of the Rhodacaridae is presented. Brief differential diagnoses are given for thefamilies of Rhodacaroidea, followed by a checklist of genera and sub-genera for each family. The families included areDigamasellidae, Halolaelapidae, Laelaptonyssidae, Ologamasidae, Rhodacaridae and Teranyssidae. Revised diagnosesare given for the genera of Rhodacaridae, and a key for their identification, derived from a standardised database ofcharacter states. Finally, a list of species within each genus of this family was compiled, giving relevant taxonomicinformation about the respective types, and providing references to nomenclatural changes, synonymy, and redescriptionsof each species. In total, 151 rhodacarid species and one subspecies are listed in this work, arranged in 15 genera. Themost diverse genera are Afrodacarellus Hurlbutt and Rhodacarus Oudemans, each with about 20% of the valid species.Five of the genera are monotypic. Taxonomic confusion surrounds some groups of species, especially in the genusRhodacarus. It appears that Rhodacarus calcarulatus Berlese, R. coronatus Berlese, R. pallidus Hull, R. reconditusAthias-Henriot and R. roseus Oudemans have often been misidentified, and these species are in need of detailed revision.A detailed taxonomic or phylogenetic revision of the family was not an objective of this paper. Future efforts to determinesynapomorphies within the group may facilitate a thorough examination of the present status of the family in relation tothe generic placement of species. Regardless, twelve new combinations are proposed in this paper: Afrogamasellus(Foliogamasellus) Karg, 1977 and Afrogamasellus (Latogamasellus) Karg, 1977 are newly synonymised underAfrodacarellus Hurlbutt, 1974 and Laelaptonyssus Womerlsey, 1956 (Laelaptonyssidae) is newly synonymised under Starkovia Lombardini, 1947.

Edaphic mesostigmatid mites (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata) in a region of the Pampa biome of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

“…The relatively small size, light sclerotization and divided dorsal shields of those mites could probably allow them to move easily in the confined interstitial spaces between soil particles. Although, this is not one of the most numerous mesostigmatid families, about 150 rhodacarid species are known worldwide (CASTILHO et al, 2012). Eight species of this family have been reported from Brazil, mostly from São Paulo State (CASTILHO & MORAES, 2010;DUARTE et al, 2016;SANTOS et al, 2017).…”

“…Mites were initially separated in families using the key provided by Lindquist et al (2009). Subsequently, the genera were identified using the world literature about the groups collected (CASTILHO et al, 2016(CASTILHO et al, , 2012MORAES et al, 2016;MOREIRA, 2014). Whenever possible, identification up to species level was done by comparisons with original descriptions and redescriptions, and with specimens available at the mite reference collection of ESALQ-USP.…”

Comparison of the species composition of Gamasina mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata) in selected caves of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (southern Poland) and their immediate surroundings

“…Mites were extracted a week later using a Tullgren funnel. Species were identified using keys by Micherdziński (1969), Błaszak (1974), Gilyarov and Bregetova (1977), Hyatt (1980), Wiśniewski (1982a, 1982b), Dielmann (1991), Karg (1993), Mašán and Fend'a (2004), Mašán (2007), Gwiazdowicz (2007), Mašán and Halliday (2010) and Casthilho et al (2012). The genus name Paragamasus is used instead of Lysiogamasus, according to Juvara-Bals (2002).…”

New Data on Two Gamasid Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) From Russia

“…Different concepts of genera and subgenera have been used by different authors (e. g., Lindquist 1975;Evans and Till 1979;Shcherbak 1980;Hirschmann and Wiśniewski 1982;Karg 1993). We herein follow Lindquist (1975) and subsequent authors (e. g., Castilho et al 2012), who classified Digamasellidae into relatively few genera. The genus Longoseius Chant, 1961 includes nine nominal species distributed across two subgenera.…”