Zercon (Zercon)

Dorsal view of female Zercon alaskaensis, copyright Matthew Meehan and Alyssa Turnbull.

Belongs within: Zerconidae.

The nominal subgenus of the genus Zercon is a group of zerconid mites characterised by an absence of conspicuously elongate setae on the anterior dorsal shield and well-separated posterior fossae (Sellnick 1958).

Characters (from Sellnick 1958): Bristles on notocephalic shield except vertical (i1) of almost equal length, none noticeably long. Peritrematic shield with two bristles, posterior bristle large and placed close to and extending far beyond the edge, anterior bristle tiny but placed on a tubercle on the edge so that it can be seen from above (being the only bristle on the edge that is directed diagonally forward); narrow wedge of soft integument between the peritrematic shield and lateral margin extending to the large bristle. Attachment point of bristle p2 on the underside of the body, not visible from above, p2 usually somewhat stronger than bristles on edge above it. Posterior fossae in a horizontal, somewhat concave row, never butting against each other.

<==Zercon Koch 1836 (Zercon) FH93
    |--*Z. (Z.) triangularis Koch 1836 U02 (see below for synonymy)
    |--Z. (Z.) abaculus Koch 1839 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) aberrans Mihelčič 1960 S58, U02
    |--Z. (Z.) alaskaensis Sellnick 1958 FH93
    |--Z. (Z.) alpinus Willmann 1953 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) americanus Sellnick 1958 FH93
    |--Z. (Z.) andrei Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) anomalus Willmann 1953 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) arcuatus Trägårdh 1931 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) badensis Sellnick 1944 S58
    |    |--Z. b. badensis A64
    |    `--Z. b. japonicus Aoki 1964 A64
    |--Z. (Z.) baloghi Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) blesti Evans 1954 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) carpathicus Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) colligans Berlese 1920 [=Z. perforatulus var. colligans] S58
    |--Z. (Z.) curiosus Trägårdh 1910 FH93
    |--Z. (Z.) dampfi Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) echinatus Schweizer 1922 S58 [=Z. triangularis var. echinatus S22]
    |--Z. (Z.) fenestralis Evans 1955 FH93
    |--Z. (Z.) forliensis Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) forsslundi Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) franzi Willmann 1943 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) guadarramicus Mihelčič in Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) hispanicus Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) inornatus Willmann 1943 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) italicus Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) joduthae Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) keiseri Schweizer 1949 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) klingei Mihelčič in Sellnick 1958 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) latissimus Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) minimus Sellnick 1958 FH93
    |--Z. (Z.) montanus Willmann 1943 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) peltatus Koch 1836 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) perforatulus Berlese 1904 [=Z. triangularis var. perforatulus] S58
    |--Z. (Z.) ratisbonensis Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) romagniolus Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) sarasinorum Schweizer 1949 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) schweizeri Sellnick 1944 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) solenites Haarløv 1942 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) spatulatus Koch 1839 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) tuberosus Willmann 1936 S58
    |--Z. (Z.) vacuus Koch 1839 [incl. Z. vacuus var. hungaricus Sellnick 1958] S58
    |--Z. (Z.) zangherii Sellnick 1944 S58
    `--Z. (Z.) zelawaiensis Sellnick 1944 S58

*Zercon (Zercon) triangularis Koch 1836 U02 [=Gamasus triangularis CF77; incl. Z. triangularis var. caudatus Berlese 1910 S58, Z. dimidiatus Koch 1839 S61, Z. triangularis var. granosus Berlese 1910 S58, G. serratus CF77]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A64] Aoki, J. 1964. Der erste Bericht über die Familie Zerconidae aus Japan (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Pacific Insects 6 (3): 489–493.

[CF77] Canestrini, G., & F. Fanzago. 1877. Intorno agli Acari Italiani. Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Serie 5, 4: 69–208, pls 2–7.

[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.

[S22] Schweizer, J. 1922. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der terrestrischen Milbenfauna der Schweiz. Verhandl. Naturf. Ges. Basel 33: 23–112, 4 pls.

[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.

[S58] Sellnick, M. 1958. Die familie Zerconidae Berlese. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 3: 313–368.

[U02] Urhan, R. 2002. New zerconid mites (Acari: Gamasida: Zerconidae) from Turkey. Journal of Natural History 36: 2127–2138.