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).

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 [Mesoplophorinae, Mesoplophoroidea]
    |--Dudichoplophora Mahunka 1982 S04
    |    `--*D. reticulata Mahunka 1982 S04
    |--Archoplophora Hammen 1959 [Archoplophoridae] S04
    |    `--A. rostralis (Willmann 1930) (see below for synonymy) S04
    |--Apoplophora Aoki 1980 [Apoplophoridae] S04
    |    |--A. pantotrema (Berlese 1913) (see below for synonymy) S04
    |    |--A. cristata Mahunka 1991 S04
    |    |--A. heterotricha Mahunka 1987 S04
    |    |--A. malaya Mahunka 1991 S04
    |    |--A. marcuardi Mahunka 1991 S04
    |    |--A. ornata Niedbala 2001 S04
    |    |--A. phalerata Niedbala 2001 S04
    |    |--A. saraburiensis N01
    |    |--A. solomonensis Niedbala 1998 S04
    |    |--A. spinosa Mahunka 1987 S04
    |    `--A. triseta Mahunka 1991 S04
    `--Mesoplophora Berlese 1904 S04
         |--M. (Mesoplophora) [incl. Phthiracarulus Berlese 1920] S04
         |    |--*M. (M.) michaeliana Berlese 1904 (see below for synonymy) S04
         |    |--M. (M.) africana Balogh 1958 [incl. M. insularis Pérez-Íñigo 1983] S04
         |    |--M. (M.) bolivari Calugar 1990 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) crassisetosa Subías & Sarkar 1984 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) cubana Calugar & 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 Niedbala 1988 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) invisitata Niedbala 1983 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) longiseta Mahunka 1982 N07
         |    |--M. (M.) longisetosa Calugar & Vasiliu 1977 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) paragaveae Niedbala 2002 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) permodica Niedbala 1985 S04
         |    |--M. (M.) pusilla Schuster 1962 S04
         |    `--M. (M.) vesca Niedbala & Corpuz-Raros 1998 S04
         `--M. (Parplophora Niedbala 1985) S04
              |--M. (*P.) pulchra Sellnick 1928 S04
              |--M. (P.) abscondita Niedbala 1988 S04
              |--M. (P.) bacula Niedbała 2003 N07
              |--M. (P.) flavida Niedbala 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 Niedbala 2001 S04
              |--M. (P.) polita Niedbala 1985 [incl. M. villosa Mahunka 1987] S04
              |--M. (P.) rostrata Mahunka 1988 S04
              `--M. (P.) subtilis Niedbala 1981 S04

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

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

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

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[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.

[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.