Astigmatina

Female Glycycometus sp., from here.

Belongs within: Desmonomata.
Contains: Histiostomatidae, Canestrinioidea, Hemisarcoptoidea, Acaroidea, Hypoderatidae, Psoroptidia, Glycyphagidae.

The Astigmatina are a group of soft-bodied mites lacking respiratory tracheae (Philips 1990). Many have rapid life cycles, and may be significant scavengers of decomposing matter. Most astigmatines (excluding the vertebrate-associated Psoroptidia) have a modified non-feeding deutonymph (hypopus) stage in the life cycle that is adapted for phoretic dispersal or diapause during adverse conditions. However, if conditions are suitable, protonymphs may moult directly to the tritonymphal stage of the life cycle and bypass the deutonymph instar (OConnor 2009).

The basalmost member of the Astigmatina, Schizoglyphus biroi, is known only from two specimens collected from the tenebrionid beetle Dioedus tibialis. These specimens probably represent deutonymphs due to their lack of chelicerae and ventral attachment organ but differ from deutonymphs of other astigmatines in having three rather than two pairs of genital papillae. Other distinctive astigmatine families include the Guanolichidae, a small group of strongly sclerotised, dorsoventrally flattened mites found on bat guano in the Afrotropical and Neotropical regions (OConnor 2009).

See also: Life in the fast lane.

Characters (from Philips 1990): Weakly sclerotised, slow-moving, pale; respiratory stigmata and tracheae absent, respiration occuring through cuticle. Chelicerae mostly chelate-dentate. Palps two-segmented. Idiosoma usually divided into propodosoma and hysterosoma by sejugal furrow. Hysterosoma with laterodorsal hysterosomal gland openings normally visible. Primary genital opening of both sexes occuring ventrally between the legs, flanked by two pairs of genital papillae. Oviposition occuring through this opening (oviporus) in female, but sperm received through small circular opening (bursa copulatrix) at posterior end of body. Male aedeagus supported by struts; male anal opening often flanked by pair of copulatory suckers.

<==Astigmatina [Acaridei, Acaridiae, Acaridida, Astigmata, Diacotricha] O09
    |  i. s.: Myrmolichus greimae W01
    |         Amphicalvolia hurdi O09
    |--Schizoglyphus [Schizoglyphidae, Schizoglyphoidea] O09
    |    `--S. biroi O09
    `--+--Histiostomatoidea O09
       |    |--Histiostomatidae O09
       |    `--Guanolichidae O09
       |         |--Neoguanolichus P90
       |         `--Guanolichus gabonensis O09
       `--+--Canestrinioidea O09
          |--Hemisarcoptoidea O09
          `--+--+--Acaroidea O09
             |  `--+--Hypoderatidae O09
             |     `--Psoroptidia O09
             `--Glycyphagoidea O09
                  |--Aeroglyphidae [Aeroglyphinae] O09
                  |    |--Aeroglyphus robustus O09
                  |    `--Glycycometus Parameswaran Pillai 1957 [incl. Austroglycyphagus Fain & Lowry 1974] H98
                  |         |--G. geniculatus (Vitzthum 1919) (see below for synonymy) H98
                  |         |--‘Austroglycyphagus’ kualalumpurensis Fain & Nadchatram 1980 C-RSV-S88
                  |         |--G. lukoschusi O09
                  |         |--G. malaysiensis (Fain & Nadchatram 1980) C-R02, C-RSV-S88 (see below for synonymy)
                  |         |--‘Austroglycyphagus’ orientalis SH01
                  |         |--‘Austroglycyphagus’ thailandicus SH01
                  |         |--G. troglodytus (Fain & Lowry 1974) [=Austroglycyphagus troglodytus] H98
                  |         `--G. weelawadjiensis (Fain & Lowry 1974) [=Austroglycyphagus weelawadjiensis] H98
                  |--Rosensteiniidae O09
                  |    |--Rosensteinia sieversi O09
                  |    |--Mydopholeus O09
                  |    |--Chiroptoglyphus americanus O09
                  |    |--Micronychites postverrucosus O09
                  |    |--Cheiromelicus trochanteralis O09
                  |    |--Troglotacarus [Troglotacaridae] O09
                  |    |    `--T. hauseri O09
                  |    |--Lophonotacarus [Lophonotacaridae] O09
                  |    |    `--L. minutus O09
                  |    `--Nycteriglyphus Zakhvatkin 1941 H98
                  |         |--N. bifolium O09
                  |         |--N. dewae (Womersley 1963) [=Coproglyphus dewae] H98
                  |         |--N. miniopteri Fain 1963 H98
                  |         |--N. pterophorus O09
                  |         `--N. vespertilio O09
                  |--Euglycyphagidae O09
                  |    |--Euglycyphagus intercalatus O09
                  |    `--Lomelacarus O09
                  |--Pedetopus [Pedetopodidae] O09
                  |    `--P. zumpti O09
                  |--Echimyopodidae [Echimyopinae] O09
                  |    |--Echimyopus dasypus O09
                  |    |--Marmosopus mesoamericanus O09
                  |    |--Blomia Oudemans 1928 H98
                  |    |    `--B. tropicalis van Bronswijk, De Cock & Oshima 1974 H98
                  |    `--Marsupiopus Fain 1967 H98
                  |         |--M. acrobates Fain & Lukoschus 1976 H98
                  |         |--M. antechinus Fain & Lukoschus 1976 H98
                  |         |--M. leporilli Fain 1969 H98
                  |         |    |--M. l. leporilli H98
                  |         |    `--M. l. pseudomys Fain & Lukoschus 1976 H98
                  |         |--M. michaeli Fain 1969 H98
                  |         |--M. myrmecobius Fain & Lukoschus 1976 H98
                  |         |--M. trichosuri Fain 1967 [=Marsupiops (l. c.) trichosuri] H98
                  |         `--M. zyzomys Lukoschus et al. 1979 H98
                  |--Glycyphagidae O09
                  `--Chortoglyphidae [Chortoglyphina] O09
                       |--Chortoglyphus Berlese 1884 H98
                       |    `--C. arcuatus (Troupeau 1879) [=Tyroglyphus arcuatus] H98
                       |--Aplodontopus O09
                       |    |--A. marmotae O09
                       |    `--A. sciuricola Hyland & Fain 1968 M-PV-G01
                       `--Alabidopus Fain 1967 H98
                            |--A. asiaticus O09
                            |--A. hydromys Fain 1967 H98
                            `--A. muris Lukoschus et al. 1979 H98

Glycycometus geniculatus (Vitzthum 1919) [=Glycyphagus geniculatus, Austroglycyphagus geniculatus] H98

Glycycometus malaysiensis (Fain & Nadchatram 1980) C-R02, C-RSV-S88 [=Austroglycyphagus malaysiensis C-RSV-S88]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C-R02] Corpuz-Raros, L. A. 2002. Philippine acarine biological control agents: status, bioecology and research prospects. Philippine Agricultural Scientist 85 (2): 137–154.

[C-RSV-S88] Corpuz-Raros, L. A., G. C. Sabio & M. Velasco-Soriano. 1988. Mites associated with stored products, poultry houses and house dust in the Philippines. Philippine Entomologist 7 (3): 311–321.

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

[M-PV-G01] Montiel-Parra, G., G. A. Villegas-Guzman, M. Vargas & O. J. Polaco. 2001. Mites associated with nests of Neotoma albigula Hartley, 1894 (Rodentia: Muridae) in Durango, México. 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. 586–593. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[O09] OConnor, B. M. 2009. Cohort Astigmatina. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 565–657. Texas Tech University Press.

[P90] Philips, J. R. 1990. Acarina: Astigmata (Acaridida). In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 757–778. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[SH01] Sumangala, K., & M. A. Haq. 2001. Survey of the mite fauna associated with Apis spp. in Kerala, southern India. 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. 565–568. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[W01] Wurst, E. 2001. The life cycle of Lemanniella minotauri n. sp. and the erection of the new family Lemanniellidae (Acari: Astigmata). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie A (Biologie) 621: 1–34.

Last updated: 11 May 2019.