Family CAECULIDAE Berlese, 1883

Museums

Regional Maps

• Caeculidae Berlese, A. 1883. Escursione in Sicilia. Acarofauna Sicula. Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 15: 212-220.

Introduction

Mites in the family Caeculidae are very large, usually with dark-coloured leathery cuticle. Their front legs carry a series of spines and enlarged setae that are used for capturing prey. They are slow-moving, and wait in ambush for soft-bodied insects and mites (Walter et al. 2009). They are most often found in sandy coastal habitats, but also occur in sandy and rocky deserts. The most important work on the systematics and biology of the family is by Coineau (1974 and contained references). Three genera and seven species have been recorded in Australia. Unidentified species have been recorded from Australia a number of times as listed for each genus, and unidentified Caeculidae were also reported by Heatwole et al. (1981), Kinnear & Tongway (2004), Adolphson & Kinnear (2008) and Callan et al. (2011).

General References

Adolphson, H. & Kinnear, A. 2008. Acari (mite) assemblages under plantations of bluegum, Eucalyptus globulus, in southwestern Australia. Pedobiologia 51: 427–437

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

Coineau, Y. 1974. Éléments pour une monographie morphologique, écologique et biologique des Caecluidae (Acariens). Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] A. Zoologie 81: 1–299 + Plates 1–24

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.

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

Walter, D.E., Lindquist, E.E., Smith, I.M., Cook, D.R. & Krantz, G.W. 2009. Order Trombidiformes. pp. 233-420 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