Cheyletus

Ventral view of Cheyletus eruditus, photographed by J. Hubert.

Belongs within: Cheyletini.

Cheyletus is a genus of free-living predatory mites. One species, C. eruditus, has been used as a biological control agent for grain mites. Dorsal setae in most species are pilose but are apparently smooth in C. parumsetosus (Baker 1949).

Characters (from Baker 1949): Eyes absent; palpal tarsus with two sickle-like and two comb-like setae; two dorsal shields present; dorsal marginal setae feather-like or pilose; dorsal setae, when present, staghorn-like; leg I with two claws.

<==Cheyletus Latreille 1796 BF01 [=Cheletes B49; incl. Eutarsus Hessling 1852 B49]
    |--*C. eruditus (Schrank 1781) B49 (see below for synonymy)
    |--C. acer Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes acer] B49
    |--C. alacer Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes alacer] B49
    |--C. audax Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes audax] B49
    |--C. aversor Rodendorf 1940 B49
    |--C. baloghi BF01
    |--C. beauchampi Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. burmiticus Cockerell 1917 (n. d.) B49
    |--C. butleri Hughes 1948 B49
    |--C. cacahuamilpensis Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. carnifex Zakhvatkin 1940 B49
    |--C. clavispinus Banks 1902 (n. d.) B49
    |--C. cocos H07
    |--C. davisi Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. doddi Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. ferox Trouessart 1889 B49
    |--C. fortis Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes fortis] B49
    |--C. furibundus Rodendorf 1940 B49
    |--C. hendersoni Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. intrepidus Oudemans 1903 [=Cheletes intrepidus] B49
    |--C. linsdalei Baker 1949 B49
    |--C. malaccensis Oudemans 1903 [=Cheletes malaccensis] H98
    |--C. munroi Hughes 1948 B49
    |--C. parumsetosus Karpelles 1884 B49
    |--C. patagiatus Nordenskiold 1900 (n. d.) B49
    |--C. praedabundus Kuzin in Rodendorf 1940 B49
    |--C. promptus Oudemans 1904 B49
    |--C. rabiosus Rodendorf 1940 B49
    |--C. rapax Oudemans 1903 [=Cheletes rapax] B49
    |--C. saevus Oudemans 1906 (n. d.) [=Cheletes saevus] B49
    |--C. schneideri Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes schneideri] B49
    |--C. strenuus Oudemans 1904 [=Cheletes strenuus] B49
    |--C. tenuipilis (Fain et al. 1980) MR01
    |--C. trouessarti Oudemans 1902 H98 [=Cheletes trouessarti H98; incl. Cheyletus macrocherus Hardy in Andre 1933 B49]
    |--C. trux Rodendorf 1940 B49
    |--C. venator Vitzthum 1920 B49
    `--C. vorax Oudemans 1903 [=Cheletes vorax] B49

*Cheyletus eruditus (Schrank 1781) B49 [=Acarus eruditus H98, Cheyletiella eruditus H98, Phthirium (Cheyletus) eruditum G20; incl. *Eutarsus cancriformis Hessling 1852 B49, Cheyletus eburneus Hardy in Andre 1933 B49, C. ferox Banks 1906 non Trouessart 1889 B49]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B49] Baker, E. W. 1949. A review of the mites of the family Cheyletidae in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 99 (3238): 267–320.

[BF01] Bochkov, A. V., & A. Fain. 2001. Phylogeny and system of the Cheyletidae (Acari: Prostigmata) with special reference to their host-parasite associations. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique Entomologie 71: 5–36.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

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

[H07] Haq, M. A. 2007. Coconut mite tragedy in peninsular India. 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. 427–432. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

[MR01] Morris, M. J. A., & J. Rimmer. 2001. Allergenicity of the predator dust mite Cheyletus tenuipilis (Acari: Cheyletidae): a preliminary study. 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. 558–564. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

Last updated: 19 June 2022.