Family ALYCIDAE Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877

Museums

Regional Maps

• Alychini Canestrini, G. & Fanzago, F. 1877. Intorno agli Acari Italiani. Venice : Antonelli pp. 1-140 + Plates i-vi.
• Alychini Canestrini, G. & Fanzago, F. 1877. Intorno agli Acari Italiani. Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 5 4: 69-208 pls II-VII.
• Pachygnathidae Kramer, P.M. 1877. Grundzüge zur Systematik der Milben. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 43: 215-247.
• Alychidae Berlese, A. 1885. Acarorum systematis specimen. Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 17: 121-135.
• Bimichaelinae Womersley, H. 1944. Australian Acarina, families Alycidae and Nanorchestidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 68: 133-143.
• Bimichaeliidae Womersley, H. 1944. Australian Acarina, families Alycidae and Nanorchestidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 68: 133-143.

Introduction

Much of the literature on this family is to be found under the family names Bimichaeliidae or Pachygnathidae. The complicated nomenclatural history of these names was thoroughly analysed by Judson (2000), who explained why Alycidae is the valid name for this family. The spelling of the family name as Alychidae by some authors is incorrect, since the type genus is Alycus Koch. The family is represented in Australia by two identified species of Alycus and three identified species of Bimichaelia. Unidentified species were recorded by Heatwole et al. (1981) (as Pachygnathidae) and Kinnear & Tongway (2004), Longstaff et al. (1999) (as Alycus sp.), Osler et al. (2000) (as ?Alycus sp.), Beyer et al. (2011), Callan et al. (2011) and Majer et al. (2013), as Alycidae, and Proctor et al. (2011) (as Bimichaeliidae). Some species of Alycidae appear to feed on nematodes. Others have elongate stylet-like chelicerae similar to those of plant-feeding Eriophyidae, but their feeding has not been analysed in detail (Walter 2009).

General References

Beyer, S., Kinnear, A., Hutley, L.B., McGuiness, K. & Gibb, K. 2011. Assessing the relationship between fire and grazing on soil characteristics and mite communities in a semi-arid savanna of northern Australia. Pedobiologia 54: 195–200

Callan, S.K., Majer, J.D., Edwards, K. & Moro, D. 2011. Documenting the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Entomology 50: 323–343

Heatwole, H., Done, T. & Cameron, E. 1981. Community Ecology of a Coral Cay: A study of One-Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The Hague : W. Junk 379 pp.

Judson, M. 2000. Nomenclatural problems associated with the names Alycidae Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877 and Pachygnathidae Kramer, 1877 (Acari). Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana 78: 533-540

Kinnear, A. & Tongway, D. 2004. Grazing impacts on soil mites of semi-arid chenopod shrublands in Western Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 56: 63–82

Longstaff, B.C., Greenslade, P.J.M., Colloff, M., Reid, I., Hart, P. & Packer, I. 1999. Managing Soils in Agriculture. The Impact of Soil Tillage Practices on Soil Fauna. Canberra, Australia : Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Publication No 99/18. pp. 65.

Majer, J.D., Callan, S.K., Edwards, K., Gunawardene, N.R. & Taylor, C.K. 2013. Baseline survey of the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 83: 13-112.

Osler, G.H.R., van Vliet, P.C.J., Gauci, C.S. & Abbott, L.K. 2000. Changes in free living soil nematode and micro-arthropod communities under a canola-wheat-lupin rotation in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 38: 47–59

Proctor, H., Kanowski, J., Catterall, C.P., Wardell-Johnson, G. & Reis, T. 2011. Rainforest-restoration success as judged by assemblages of soil- and litter-dwelling mites (Arachnida: Acari). Zoosymposia 6: 234–254

Walter, D.E. 2009. Suborder Endeostigmata. pp. 421-429 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

History of changes