Pseudoparasitus

Pseudoparasitus centralis, copyright Matthew Shepherd.

Belongs within: Laelapidae.

Pseudoparasitus is a genus of laelapid mites found free-living in soil and litter (Evans & Till 1979).

Characters (from Evans & Till 1979): Palp apotele three-tined, posterior tine small. Chelicerae of male chelate-dentate, spermatodactyl free. Female with large opisthogenital shield bearing four or more pairs of ventral setae of which two pairs are widely removed from the lateral margins of the shield; anal shield free; metasternal setae not situated on sternal shield.

<==Pseudoparasitus Oudemans 1902 FH93 (see below for synonymy)
    |--*P. meridionalis (Canestrini 1882) [=Laelaps meridionalis] ET79
    |--P. alpinus Schweizer 1961 S61
    |--P. annectans (Womersley 1955) H98 [=Gymnolaelaps annectans H98; incl. Hypoaspis nidicorva Evans & Till 1966 FH93]
    |--P. astriatus Hunter 1966 FH93
    |--P. australicus (Womersley 1956) [=Gymnolaelaps australicus] H98
    |--P. austriacus W88
    |--P. camini (Domrow 1957) [=Austrogamasellus camini] H98
    |--P. centralis ET79
    |--P. dentatus (Halbert 1920) M96
    |--P. domrowi Hunter 1966 FH93
    |--P. ennsi Hunter 1966 FH93
    |--P. gracilipes (Banks 1916) [=Cyrtolaelaps gracilipes, Austrogamasus gracilipes] H98
    |--P. margopilus Hunter 1966 FH93
    |--P. ovulum Berlese 1920 FH93
    |--P. placentulus K91
    |--P. planus (Womersley 1956) [=Gymnolaelaps planus] H98
    |--P. porulatus Karg 1989 FH93
    |--P. quadrisetatus Karg 1981 FH93
    |--P. schusteri Hirschmann 1966 H66
    |--P. stigmatus (Fox 1946) [=Mysolaelaps stigmatus] FH93
    |--P. thatcheri Hunter & Moser 1968 FH93
    |--P. trincisus Hunter 1966 FH93
    `--P. vitzthumi (Womersley 1956) [=Gymnolaelaps vitzthumi, Laelaspis vitzthumi] H98

Pseudoparasitus Oudemans 1902 FH93 [incl. Austrogamasellus Domrow 1957 FH93, Austrogamasus Womersley 1942 H98, Hoplolaelaps Berlese 1910 FH93, Laelapsoides Willmann 1952 FH93]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[ET79] Evans, G. O., & W. M. Till. 1979. Mesostigmatic mites of Britain and Ireland (Chelicerata: Acari-Parasitiformes). An introduction to their external morphology and classification. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 35: 139–270.

[FH93] Farrier, M. H., & M. K. Hennessey. 1993. Soil-inhabiting and free-living Mesostigmata (Acari-Parasitiformes) from North America: an annotated checklist with bibliography and index. North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, North Carolina State University, Technical Bulletin 302: i–xvi, 1–408.

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

[H66] Hirschmann, W. 1966. Gangsystematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 15. Gänge von Litoralmilben und neue Litoralmilbenarten. Acarologie: Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 9: 25–44.

[K91] Kohn, M. 1991. Influence of the refuse dump biotopes on ecology of some gamasoid mites and ticks. 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. 199–204. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[M96] Munderloh, E. 1996. Gamasina (Mesostigmata) in a dune transect at Spiekeroog (Germany, Lower Saxony). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 589–594. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[S61] Schweizer, J. 1961. Die Landmilben der Schweiz (Mittelland, Jura und Alpen): Parasitiformes Reuter, mit 246 Arten und Varietäten und 268 meist kombinierten Originalzeichnungen. Denkschriften der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft [Mémoires de la Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles] 84: i–vii, 1–207.

[W88] Walter, D. E. 1988. Nematophagy by soil arthropods from the shortgrass steppe, Chihuahuan desert and Rocky Mountains of the central United States. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 24: 307–316.