Brachychthonius

Brachychthonius sp., copyright Zoë Lindo.

Belongs within: Acariformes.

Brachychthonius is a cosmopolitan genus of brachychthoniid mites with two pairs of suprapleural plates and simple, undifferentiated adanal setae. The majority of known species are described from the Holarctic region but a small number of species are known from Africa whereas B. pacificus was described from Samoa (Subías 2004).

Characters (from Balogh & Balogh 1992): Notogaster with two transverse sutures and three shields, no setae arising within sutures; shield Na bearing two rows of setae (c and d); fields of shield Na appearing in pairs, two groups also in median line, separated by transverse stripe; seta d2 in marginal position, aligned with longitudinal row of setae cp-e2. Two discernible pairs of suprapleural plates (SpC, SpE). Epimere IV with four pairs of setae. All three pairs of adanal setae thin, simple, setiform. Peranal plate present.

<==Brachychthonius Berlese 1910 S04 [=Brachiphthonius (l. c.) CH98; incl. Brachychochthonius Jacot 1938 S04]
    |--B. berlesei Willmann 1928 [incl. Hypochthonius brevis Berlese 1910 non Michael 1888, *B. brevis] S04
    |--B. africanus Balogh 1958 S04
    |--B. amicabilis Gil-Martín & Subías 1997 S04
    |--B. bimaculatus Willmann 1936 [incl. B. helveticus Schweizer 1956] S04
    |--B. hauserorum (Mahunka 1979) [=Brachychochthonius hauserorum] S04
    |--B. hirtus Moritz 1976 S04
    |--B. impressus Moritz 1976 [incl. Brachychochthonius subcricoides Balogh & Mahunka 1979] S04
    |--B. jugatus (Jacot 1938) (n. d.) S04 [=*Brachychochthonius jugatus CH98]
    |--B. laevis (Jacot 1938) (n. d.) [=Brachychochthonius laevis] S04
    |--B. lineatus (Mahunka 1982) [=Brachychochthonius lineatus] S04
    |--B. pacificus Hammer 1973 S04
    |--B. parahirtus Subías & Gil-Martín 1991 S04
    |--B. pauliani Balogh & Mahunka 1966 S04
    |--B. pius Moritz 1976 S04
    |--B. psammophylus Mahunka 1987 S04
    |--B. pseudoimmaculatus Subías & Gil-Martín 1991 S04
    |--B. sexnotatus G46
    `--B. suecicus W91

*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.

[CH98] Colloff, M. J., & R. B. Halliday. 1998. Oribatid Mites: A catalogue of Australian genera and species. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.

[G46] Grandjean, F. 1946. Les poils et les organes sensitifs portés par les pattes et le palpe chez les oribates. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 71: 10–29.

[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.

[W91] Weigmann, G. 1991. Oribatid communities in transects from bogs to forests in Berlin indicating the biotopes qualities. 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. 359–364. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

Last updated: 13 January 2019.