Phenopelopidae

Peloptulus phaeonotus, copyright Matthew Shepherd.

Belongs within: Brachypylina.
Contains: Eupelops.

The Phenopelopidae are a family of oribatid mites with movable pteromorphae and usually dilated setae on the notogaster. They are most known primarily from leaf litter in temperate regions with some species also found at higher altitudes in the tropics (Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009). Members of the genera Nesopelops, Peloptulus and Eupelops have slender, peloptoid chelicerae and an acuminate rostrum. Propelops retains non-peloptoid chelicerae and a rounded rostrum but is related to the remaining phenopelopids by characters such as the close association of the small porose areas on the notogaster with individual notogastral setae, and the presence in nymphs of a ventral tuberculate area anterior to the genital opening (Norton & Behan-Pelletier 1986). Peloptulus differs from Nesopelops and Eupelops in having very small setiform interlamellar setae; in the other two genera, the interlamellar setae are long and leaf-shaped. Nesopelops has the quadrangle formed by the setal pairs lm and lp broader than it is long, and has two pairs of adanal setae (Balogh & Balogh 1992).

Characters (from Balogh & Balogh 1992): Prodorsum with tutorium, lamellae and translamellae. Ten pairs of notogastral setae, setae usually dilated. Pteromorphae well developed, more or less movable. Octotaxic system developed as four pairs of areae porosae. Six pairs of genital setae, one pair of aggenital setae, two pairs of anal setae, two or three pairs of adanal setae. Legs monodactyle or tridactyle.

Phenopelopidae [Eupelopidae, Pelopidae, Pelopsidae]
    |--Propelops Jacot 1937 S04 [incl. Hammeria Sellnick 1944 S04; Propelopinae NB-P86]
    |    |--*P. pinicus Jacot 1937 S04
    |    |--P. alaskensis (Hammer 1955) [=Hammeria alaskensis] S04
    |    |--P. canadensis (Hammer 1952) [=Hammeria canadensis] S04
    |    |--P. groenlandicus (Sellnick 1944) [=Hammeria groenlandica] S04
    |    |--P. minnesotensis (Ewing 1913) S04 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--P. monticolus (Ewing 1918) S04 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--P. pacificus Krivolutsky 1971 S04
    |    `--P. rossicus (Shaldybina 1971) [=Hammeria rossica] S04
    `--Phenopelopinae NB-P86
         |--Peloptulus Berlese 1908 NB-P86, S04
         |    |--*P. phaeonotus (Koch 1844) [=Pelops phaeonotus] S04
         |    |--P. americanus (Ewing 1907) [=Pelops americanus] S04
         |    |--P. borgesi Pérez-Íñigo & Pérez-Íñigo 1996 S04
         |    |--P. denticuspidatus Bayartogtokh 1999 S04
         |    |--P. foveolatus Hammer 1961 S04
         |    |--P. gibbus Mihelčič 1957 S04
         |    |--P. laticuspidatus (Ewing 1909) [=Pelops laticuspidatus] S04
         |    |--P. latilamellatus Bayartogtokh & Aoki 1997 S04
         |    |--P. latirostris Pérez-Íñigo 1969 S04
         |    |--P. montanus Hull 1914 S04
         |    |--P. reticulatus Mihelčič 1957 S04
         |    |--P. tanytrichosus Higgins & Woolley 1972 S04
         |    `--P. trinacriae Arcidiacono 1975 S04
         `--Eupelops S04

Phenopelopidae incertae sedis:
  Nesopelops Hammer 1973 S04
    |--*N. caudatus Hammer 1973 S04
    |--N. crassus (Hammer 1972) [=Eupelops crassus] S04
    |--N. higginsi (Balogh 1970) [=Eupelops higginsi] S04
    |--N. intermedius Hammer 1979 S04
    |--N. laensis (Balogh 1970) [=Eupelops laensis] S04
    |--N. monodactylus (Hammer 1966) [=Pelops monodactylus] S04
    |--N. polynesius (Hammer 1972) [=Eupelops polynesius] S04
    |--N. punctatus Hammer 1966 S04
    |--N. samoaensis Hammer 1973 S04
    |--N. tongatapuensis Hammer 1973 S04
    `--N. transversus Balogh 1970 S04

Propelops minnesotensis (Ewing 1913) S04 [=Pelops minnesotensis S04, Eupelops minnesotensis NB-P86, Punctoribates minnesotensis NB-P86]

Propelops monticolus (Ewing 1918) S04 [=Eupelops monticolus S04, Hammeria monticolus NB-P86; incl. E. monticolus subborealis Ewing 1918 S04]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

Balogh, J., & P. Balogh. 1992. The Oribatid Mites Genera of the World vol. 1. Hungarian Natural History Museum: Budapest.

[NB-P86] Norton, R. A., & V. M. Behan-Pelletier. 1986. Systematic relationships of Propelops, with a modification of family-group taxa in Phenopelopoidea (Acari: Oribatida). Canadian Journal of Zoology 64 (10): 2370–2383.

Norton, R. A., & V. M. Behan-Pelletier. 2009. Suborder Oribatida. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3rd ed. pp. 430–564. Texas Tech University Press.

[S04] Subías, L. S. 2004. Listado sistemático, sinonímico y biogeográfico de los ácaros oribátidos (Acariformes, Oribatida) del mundo (1758–2002). Graellsia 60 (número extraordinario): 3–305.

Last updated: 27 June 2017.