Torrenticolidae

Torrenticola sp., copyright Andrea Radwell.

Belongs within: Neohydrachnidia.

The Torrenticolidae are a group of heavily sclerotised, dorsoventrally flattened mites found mostly in springs and streams. Larvae, where known, are parasites of Chironomidae (Walter et al. 2009).

Characters (from Walter et al. 2009): Adults with dorsal and ventral shields present; either with gonopore bearing six pairs of genital acetabula and dorsal shield consisting of large posterior plate and one or two pairs of anterior platelets (in rare cases anterior plates fused with posterior plate but suture lines evident) or with gonopore bearing three pairs of genital acetabula and dorsal shield consisting of central plate surrounded by several pairs of platelets. Larvae with cheliceral bases fused; dorsal plate bearing four pairs of setae (verticils and scapulars) or five pairs including verticils, scapulars and setae d1 laterally; coxal plates I extending posteriorly only to level of insertion of legs III or fused with plates II; coxal plates III bearing two pairs of setae, including setae 3a, and setae pa posteromedially; excretory pore plate bearing only setae ps1 and ps2; legs with five movable segments; leg tarsi bearing paired claws; tibiae I-III bearing eight setae, and two, two and one solenidia respectively; tarsi I-II bearing thirteen setae and one solenidion, including Ta14.

<==Torrenticolidae
    |--Testudacarus [Testudacarinae] WL09
    |    `--T. americanus WL09
    |--Neoatractides Lundblad 1941 RFF05 [Neoatractidinae WL09]
    |    |--N. formosus Lundblad 1941 RFF05
    |    `--N. inachus Lundblad 1941 RFF05
    `--Torrenticolinae WL09
         |--Pseudotorrenticola rhynchota Walter 1906 WL09, VBB91
         `--Torrenticola Piersig 1896 RFF05
              |  i. s.: T. amplexa GS91
              |         T. anomala GS91
              |         T. brevirostris (Halbert 1911) VBB91
              |         T. cavifrons GS96
              |         T. crenobia GS96
              |         T. eliptica S86
              |         T. eureka Valdecasas 2005 F05
              |         T. hyporheica GS96
              |         T. indistincta DPD16
              |         T. kotooma Cook 1986 H98
              |         T. lativalvata GS96
              |         T. meridionalis GS96
              |         T. minutirostris GS96
              |         T. serratipalpis GS96
              |         T. trinacriae GS96
              |--T. (Torrenticola) RFF05
              |    |--T. (T.) amala Cook 1980 S86
              |    |--T. (T.) andrei (Angelier 1950) S86
              |    |--T. (T.) columbiana (Lundblad 1941) RFF05
              |    |--T. (T.) conirostris (Lundblad 1941) RFF05
              |    |--T. (T.) fagei (Angelier 1949) S86
              |    |--T. (T.) jeanneli (Motas & Tanasachi 1947) S86
              |    |--T. (T.) latipalpis Imamura 1959 S86
              |    |--T. (T.) madritensis (Viets 1930) S86
              |    |--T. (T.) microdentifera Cook 1967 S86
              |    |--T. (T.) ramigera (Szalay 1947) S86
              |    |--T. (T.) subterranea Imamura 1957 S86
              |    |--T. (T.) ungeri (Szalay 1927) (see below for synonymy) S86
              |    `--T. (T.) vaga (Szalay 1947) S86
              |--T. (Heteratractides Lundblad 1941) RFF05
              |    `--T. (H.) serratirostris (Lundblad 1941) RFF05
              `--T. (Monatractides Viets 1926) RFF05
                   |--T. (M.) australica Cook 1986 G01, H98
                   |--T. (M.) brevis (Lundblad 1941) RFF05
                   |    |--T. b. brevis RFF05
                   |    `--T. b. clavipes Lundblad 1953 RFF05
                   |--T. (M.) hesperia (Lundblad 1941) RFF05
                   `--T. (M.) pusta (Cook 1967) [=Monatractides pusta] S86

Torrenticola (Torrenticola) ungeri (Szalay 1927) [incl. T. ungeri disparilis (Walter 1947), T. lundbladi Viets 1930] S86

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[DPD16] Dabert, M., H. Proctor & J. Dabert. 2016. Higher-level molecular phylogeny of the water mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Parasitengonina: Hydrachnidiae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 101: 75–90.

[F05] Fernández, J. 2005. Noticia de nuevos táxones para la ciencia en el ámbito Íbero-Balear y Macaronésico. Nuevos táxones animales descritos en la península Ibérica y Macaronesia desde 1994 (IX). Graellsia 61 (2): 261–282.

[GS96] Gerecke, R., & A. Di Sabatino. 1996. Historical zoogeography and evolution of habitat preference in water mites (Hydracarina) of the central Mediterranean region. In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 523–527. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[GS91] Gerecke, R., & J. Schwoerbel. 1991. Water quality and water mites (Acari, Actinedida) in the Upper Danube region, 1959-1984. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 483–491. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[G01] Growns, J. E. 2001. Aquatic mites as bioindicators, with an Australian example. In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 136–142. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[H98] Halliday, R. B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.

[RFF05] Rosso de Ferradás, B., & H. R. Fernández. 2005. Elenco y biogeografía de los ácaros acuáticos (Acari, Parasitengona, Hydrachnidia) de Sudamérica. Graellsia 61 (2): 181–224.

[S86] Schwoerbel, J. 1986. Acari: “Hydrachnellae”. In: Botosaneanu, L. (ed.) Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) pp. 652–696. E. J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys: Leiden.

[VBB91] Valdecasas, A. G., A. Baltanás & E. Bello. 1991. A preliminary assessment of single rocks for sampling water mites. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 503–507. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[WL09] Walter, D. E., E. E. Lindquist, I. M. Smith, D. R. Cook & G. W. Krantz. 2009. Order Trombidiformes. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 233–420. Texas Tech University Press.

Last updated: 11 July 2022.