Mesoplophoridae

Phoretic Mesoplophora on beetle, from Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility.

Belongs within: Hypochthonioidea.

The Mesoplophoridae are a cosmopolitan group of ptychoid mites (able to withdraw the legs beneath a rotated aspis), differing from other ptychoid mites in being so both as adults and immatures (Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009). The species Archoplophora rostralis has a venter of the macropyline type, with the genital and ano-adanal plates closely adjacent, but other species of the family have a macropyline venter with the genital and anal plates widely separated.

Characters (from Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009): Body form ptychoid. Subcapitulum anarthric; rutella narrow. Hysterosoma covered dorsally by apparent notogaster with only six to eight pairs of setae (rows c, d and e); body region bearing setal rows f, h and p shifted ventrally, incorporated into ventral plate in which genital and anal plates insert. One pair of epimere II setae. Genu I with one solenidion.

<==Mesoplophoridae [Apoplophoridae, Mesoplophorinae, Mesoplophoroidea]
    |  i. s.: Dudichoplophora Mahunka 1982 S04
    |           `--*D. reticulata Mahunka 1982 S04
    |--Archoplophora Hammen 1959 PL17, S04 [Archoplophoridae]
    |    `--A. rostralis (Willmann 1930) S04 (see below for synonymy)
    `--+--Apoplophora Aoki 1980 PL17, S04
       |    |--A. pantotrema (Berlese 1913) S04 (see below for synonymy)
       |    |--A. cristata Mahunka 1991 S04
       |    |--A. heterotricha Mahunka 1987 S04
       |    |--A. malaya Mahunka 1991 S04
       |    |--A. marcuardi Mahunka 1991 S04
       |    |--A. ornata Niedbała 2001 S04
       |    |--A. phalerata Niedbała 2001 S04
       |    |--A. saraburiensis N01
       |    |--A. solomonensis Niedbała 1998 S04
       |    |--A. spinosa Mahunka 1987 S04
       |    `--A. triseta Mahunka 1991 S04
       `--Mesoplophora Berlese 1904 PL17, S04
            |--M. (Mesoplophora) [incl. Phthiracarulus Berlese 1920] S04
            |    |--*M. (M.) michaeliana Berlese 1904 (see below for synonymy) S04
            |    |--M. (M.) africana Balogh 1958 S04 (see below for synonymy)
            |    |--M. (M.) bolivari Calugar 1990 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) crassisetosa Subías & Sarkar 1984 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) cubana Călugăr & Vasiliu 1977 S04
            |    |    |--M. c. cubana S04
            |    |    `--M. c. pratensis Scull 1985 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) gaveae Schuster 1962 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) hauseri Mahunka 1982 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) ifeana Badejo, Woas & Beck 2001 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) ignota Niedbała 1988 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) invisitata Niedbała 1983 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) longiseta Mahunka 1982 N07
            |    |--M. (M.) longisetosa Călugăr & Vasiliu 1977 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) paragaveae Niedbała 2002 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) permodica Niedbała 1985 S04
            |    |--M. (M.) pusilla Schuster 1962 S04
            |    `--M. (M.) vesca Niedbała & Corpuz-Raros 1998 S04
            `--M. (Parplophora Niedbała 1985) S04
                 |--M. (*P.) pulchra Sellnick 1928 S04
                 |--M. (P.) abscondita Niedbała 1988 S04
                 |--M. (P.) bacula Niedbała 2003 N07
                 |--M. (P.) flavida Niedbała 1985 S04
                 |--M. (P.) japonica Aoki 1970 S04
                 |--M. (P.) leviseta Hammer 1979 [incl. M. gibba Mahunka 1988] S04
                 |--M. (P.) paraleviseta Mahunka 1991 S04
                 |--M. (P.) pertenuis Niedbała 2001 S04
                 |--M. (P.) polita Niedbała 1985 [incl. M. villosa Mahunka 1987] S04
                 |--M. (P.) rostrata Mahunka 1988 S04
                 `--M. (P.) subtilis Niedbała 1981 S04

Apoplophora pantotrema (Berlese 1913) S04 [=Mesoplophora pantotrema S04; incl. M. discreta Berlese 1913 S04, Apoplophora discreta A80, M. indica Mahunka 1985 S04, A. jaccoudi Mahunka 1991 S04, A. lineata Mahunka 1987 S04, A. ornatissima Mahunka 1988 S04, *A. remota Aoki 1980 S04, A. rostrorugosa Hammer 1979 S04, Mesoplophora rostrorugosa N84, A. striata Mahunka 1985 S04]

Archoplophora rostralis (Willmann 1930) S04 [=Phthiracarulus rostralis S04; incl. Phthiracarus laevis Jacot 1938 S04, *Archoplophora laevis S04, Phthiracarulus laevis A80, A. villosa Aoki 1980 S04]

Mesoplophora (Mesoplophora) africana Balogh 1958 S04 [=M. (Parplophora) africana N85; incl. M. insularis Pérez-Íñigo 1983 S04]

*Mesoplophora (Mesoplophora) michaeliana Berlese 1904 [incl. M. caucasica Krivolutsky 1975 (n. n.), M. graeca Walzl 1974, M. pectinata Mahunka 1979, Phthiracarus (Phthiracarulus) perexiguus Berlese 1920] S04

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A80] Aoki, J. 1980. A revision of the oribatid mites of Japan. III. Families Protoplophoridae, Archoplophoridae and Mesoplophoridae. Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology 18: 5–16.

[N84] Niedbała, W. 1984. Mesoplophoridea (Acari, Oribatida). Changement du système et redescription d'espèces-types. Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences Biological Sciences 32 (3–4): 137–155.

[N85] Niedbała, W. 1985. Essai critique sur Mesoplophora (Acari, Oribatida, Mesoplophoridae). Annales Zoologici 39 (4): 93–117.

[N01] Niedbała, W. 2001. Study of the diversity of Ptyctima (Acari: Oribatida) and quest for centres of its origin: the fauna of the Oriental and Australian regions. 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. 143–148. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[N07] Niedbała, W. 2007. Ptyctimous mites (Acari, Oribatida) of Costa Rica. 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. 39–42. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

[PL17] Pachl, P., A. C. Lindl, A. Krause, S. Scheu, I. Schaefer & M. Maraun. 2017. The tropics as an ancient cradle of oribatid mite diversity. Acarologia 57 (2): 309–322.

[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: 7 March 2019.