Uropodina

Ventral view (left) and dorsal shield of Diarthrophallus quercus, from Lindquist et al. (2009).

Belongs within: Mesostigmata.
Contains: Cyllibulidae, Trigonuropodidae, Uropodoidea, Polyaspidoidea, Abrotarsala.

The Uropodina are a group of often heavily armoured predatory mites (though some may also feed on decaying organic matter). Most species have phoretic deutonymphs that attach to their hosts by an anal pedicel. The Diarthrophallidae are parasites of passalid beetles characterised by the presence of a single dorsal shield. Most are found in tropical locations; the Nearctic Diarthrophallus quercus is exceptional in being found at higher latitudes (Lindquist et al. 2009). Diarthrophallids have been divided between two subfamilies: the Passalobiinae have the first coxa fused or continuous and possess a minute dorsal suranal seta above the anal opening whereas Diarthrophallinae have the first coxa free and lack the suranal seta.

The remaining Uropodina (the Uropodiae) are more diverse in habits and possess more than one dorsal shield (usually some arrangement of marginal shields in addition to the main dorsal shield). Thinozercon michaeli is a distinctive form known from intertidal localities in Ireland, with dorsal peritremes and a narrow median spine on the epistome. Protodinychus is a basal genus of Uropodiae found in damp habitats in the Holarctic region; at least some species are associated with beaver lodges and beetles found therein. Thinozercon and Protodinychus both have narrow first coxae each inserted in its own acetabulum whereas the Uropodoidea and Polyaspidoidea have the first coxae inserted in a conjoined gnathopodal cavity (Lindquist et al. 2009).

Characters (from Lindquist et al. 2009): Adults with one to several dorsal shields, marginal shields or platelets generally present. Tritosternal base often enlarged, subrectangular or columnar. Peritreme often sinuous, sometimes on horn-like projections, rarely vestigial. Epigynal shield of female oval, subtriangular, or tongue-shaped, usually nude and partially or entirely enclosed by fused sternal-endopodal-ventral shielding bearing sternal setae 1-5 (st5 rarely on separate shields that may be partially fused to epigynal shield) and usually confined to podosomatic region, rarely displaced posteriorly or fused with ventral elements. Femur IV of deutonymph and adult usually with 7-8 setae (if only six setae are present, then hypostomatic setae h2 and h3 longitudinally aligned).

<==Uropodina [Atrichopygidiina]
    |--Uropodiae LKW09
    |    |--Uropodoidea K07b
    |    |--Polyaspidoidea LKW09
    |    |--Thinozercon Halbert 1915 ET79 [Thinozerconidae, Thinozerconina, Thinozerconoidea LKW09]
    |    |    `--*T. michaeli Halbert 1915 ET79
    |    `--Protodinychus Evans 1957 FH93 [Protodinychidae, Protodinychoidea LKW09]
    |         |--*P. punctatus Evans 1957 ET79
    |         |--P. ainscoughi LKW09
    |         |--P. evansi LKW09
    |         `--P. johnstoni Hirschmann 1979 FH93
    `--Diarthrophallidae [Brasiluropodidae, Diarthrophalliae, Diarthrophallina, Diarthrophalloidea] LKW09
         |  i. s.: Brasiluropoda Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol 1964 FH93
         |           `--B. lindquisti Hirschmann 1977 FH93
         |         Abrotarsala FH93
         |         Atrema Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--A. nasica Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           `--A. parvula Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Liranotus Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--L. liratus Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           `--L. strigatus Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Paralana Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           `--P. proculae Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Passalobiella Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--P. colaptes Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--P. comantis Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--P. ctenophora Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--P. dubinerae (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Passalobiella dubinerae] FH93
         |           |--P. sellifera Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           `--P. spatha Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Polytrechna Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           `--P. serrula Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Tenuiplanta Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |           |--T. crossi (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Brachytremella crossi] FH93
         |           `--T. polypora Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
         |         Baloghibrasiluropoda Hirschmann 1973 FH93
         |         Kaszabbrasiluropoda Hirschmann 1979 FH93
         |         Mahunkabrasiluropoda Hirschmann 1979 FH93
         |         Ovalbrasiluropoda Hirschmann 1979 FH93
         |         Brachytremelloides Womersley 1961 H98
         |           |--B. brevipoda Schuster & Summers 1978 H98
         |           |--B. minuta Schuter & Summers 1978 H98
         |           `--B. striata Womersley 1961 H98
         |         Eurysternodes Schuster & Summers 1978 H98
         |           `--E. tragardhi (Womersley 1961) [=Brachytremella tragardhi] H98
         |         Lombardiniella Womersley 1961 H98
         |           |--L. bornemisszai (Womersley 1961) [=Brachytremella bornemisszai] H98
         |           `--L. lombardinii Womersley 1961 H98
         |--Passalobiinae LKW09
         `--Diarthrophallinae LKW09
              |--Troctognathus LKW09
              |--Minyplax LKW09
              |--Notoporus LKW09
              `--Diarthrophallus Trägårdh 1946 FH93
                   |--D. aurosus Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
                   |--D. cartwrighti (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Brachytremella cartwrighti] FH93
                   |--D. crinatus Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
                   |--D. fulvastrum Schuster & Summers 1978 FH93
                   |--D. joanae (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Brachytremella joanae] FH93
                   `--D. quercus (Pearse & Wharton in Pearse, Patterson et al. 1936) (see below for synonymy) FH93

Uropodina incertae sedis:
  Haluropoda interropta S22
  Cyllibulidae VKC07
  Trichouropodella Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol 1972 FH93 [Trichouropodellidae VKC07]
    |--T. baloghi Hirschmann 1977 FH93
    |--T. magna Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol 1972 VKC07
    `--T. panamensis Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol 1972 VKC07
  Trigonuropodidae VKC07
  Congouropoda Hirschmann & Hiramatsu 1977 FH93
  Hutufeideria Hirschmann & Hiramatsu 1977 [Hutufeideriidae] FH93
  Rotundabaloghiidae FH93
    |--Angulobaloghia Hirschmann 1979 FH93
    `--Rotundabaloghia Hirschmann 1975 FH93
         |--R. benyovszkyi Kontschán 2007 K07a
         |--R. liriformes Hirschmann 1992 VKC07
         `--R. madagascarensis Kontschán 2007 K07a

Diarthrophallus quercus (Pearse & Wharton in Pearse, Patterson et al. 1936) [=Uroseius quercus; incl. Passalobia duodecimpilosus Lombardini 1939, Diarthrophallus similis Trägårdh 1946] FH93

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[ET79] Evans, G. O., & W. M. Till. 1979. Mesostigmatic mites of Britain and Ireland (Chelicerata: Acari-Parasitiformes). An introduction to their external morphology and classification. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 35: 139–270.

[FH93] Farrier, M. H., & M. K. Hennessey. 1993. Soil-inhabiting and free-living Mesostigmata (Acari-Parasitiformes) from North America: an annotated checklist with bibliography and index. North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, North Carolina State University, Technical Bulletin 302: i–xvi, 1–408.

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

[K07a] Kontschán, J. 2007a. Two new Rotundabaloghia Hirschmann, 1975 species from Madagascar (Acari: Mesostigmata: Uropodina). Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 99: 171–176.

[K07b] Kontschán, J. 2007b. Some new records of Uropodina mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro with descriptions of two new species. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 99: 177–188.

[LKW09] Lindquist, E. E., G. W. Krantz & D. E. Walter. 2009. Order Mesostigmata. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 124–232. Texas Tech University Press.

[S22] Schweizer, J. 1922. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der terrestrischen Milbenfauna der Schweiz. Verhandl. Naturf. Ges. Basel 33: 23–112, 4 pls.

[VKC07] Vázquez, M. M., H. Klompen & C. I. Chargoy. 2007. Study of the Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata) in tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and Belize. In: Morales-Malacara, J. B., V. M. Behan-Pelletier, E. Ueckermann, T. M. Pérez, E. G. Estrada-Venegas & M. Badii (eds) Acarology XI: Proceedings of the International Congress pp. 43–50. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

Last updated: 12 February 2020.