Family TERPNACARIDAE Grandjean, 1939

Museums

Regional Maps

• Terpnacaridae Grandjean, F. 1939. Quelques genres d'acariens appartenant au groupe des Endeostigmata. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie 11 2: 1-122.

Introduction

The family Terpnacaridae is only known in Australia from three species, each represented by a small number of specimens (reviewed by Walter 2001). An unidentified species was also reported by Osler et al. (2000), as ?Terpnacaridae sp. and by Proctor et al. (2011). The minute size of these mites means they are easily overlooked, and more species may await recognition in collections. World-wide the family includes three genera and nine species, which occur in dry leaf litter and soil (Kethley 1982), where they appear to feed on solid particulate food such as fungal hyphae (Walter 2009).

General References

Kethley, J. 1982. Acariformes. pp. 117-145 in Parker, S.P. (ed.). Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms. New York : McGraw-Hill Vol. 2.

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. 2001. Endemism and cryptogenesis in 'segmented' mites: A review of Australian Alicorhagiidae, Terpnacaridae, Oehserchestidae and Grandjeanicidae (Acari: Sarcoptiformes). Australian Journal of Entomology 40: 207-218

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.

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