Family CEPHEIDAE Berlese, 1896

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Regional Maps

• Cepheidae Berlese, A. 1896. Ordo Cryptostigmata (Oribatidae). Portici : Sumptibus Autoris pp. 98 + Plates I–IX.

Introduction

The family Cepheidae includes 15 genera and 87 species world-wide (Schatz et al., 2011). These species are found in moss, lichen, litter, and rotting wood, especially in the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions (Norton & Behan-Pelletier, 2009). The Australian fauna is very poorly known, with only a single record of an unidentified species of Compactozetes (Hunt et al., 1998; Colloff & Halliday 1998).

The family name Cepheidae Berlese, 1896 is a junior homonym of Cepheidae Agassiz, 1892 (Cnidaria), and has not yet been replaced. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is currently (September 2019) considering a solution to this problem (Halliday & Norton, 2019).

General References

Colloff, M.J. & Halliday, R.B. 1998. Oribatid Mites: A Catalogue of the Australian Genera and Species. Melbourne : CSIRO Publications.

Halliday, R.B. & Norton, R.A. 2019. Case 3785 – Proposal to remove the homonymy of Cepheidae Berlese,1896 (Acariformes) with Cepheidae Agassiz, 1862 (Cnidaria), by emending the former to Cepheusidae. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 76: 34-42.

Hunt, G.S., Colloff, M.J., Dallwitz, M. & Walter, D.E. 1998. An Interactive Key to Oribatid Mites of Australia (CD-ROM). Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing.

Norton, R.A. & Behan-Pelletier, V.M. 2009. Suborder Oribatida. pp. 430–564 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

Schatz, H., Behan-Pelletier, V.M., OConnor, B.M. & Norton, R.A. 2011. Suborder Oribatida van der Hammen, 1968. pp. 141–148 in Zhang, Z.-Q. Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness. Auckland : Magnolia Press.

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