Family GLYCYPHAGIDAE Berlese, 1897

Museums

Regional Maps

• Glycyphagina Berlese, A. 1897. Acari, Myriopoda et Scorpiones hucusque in Italia reperta. Ordo Cryptostigmata (Sarcoptidae). Portici : Sumptibus Auctoris 190 pp.

Introduction

The Australian Glycyphagidae are very poorly known, with only one species in each of five genera. This may be compared with the world fauna of 192 species in 41 genera (OConnor 2009). Four of the five Australian species are cosmopolitan pests of stored food (reviewed by Hughes 1976). At least some of these species occur in house dust and have been implicated in causing allergy and dermatitis in humans (Colloff 2009). The only native species is Fusacarus australis, which is unusual in its occurrence in rainforest leaf litter. More species are likely to be found in the nests of birds and mammals when these habitats are surveyed more fully. Unidentified species have been recorded from Australia a number of times as listed for each genus, and unidentified Glycyphagidae were also reported by Heatwole et al. (1981), Noble et al. (1996a, 1996b), Frost & Bailey (1997), Longstaff et al. (1999) and Proctor et al. (2011).

General References

Colloff, M.J. 2009. Dust Mites. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing pp. 583.

Frost, W.E. & Bailey, P. 1997. Identifying Mites on Inland Australian Citrus. A Colour Guide for Growers, Packers and Quarantine Staff. South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide. 8 pp.

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.

Hughes, A.M. 1976. The Mites of Stored Food and Houses. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Technical Bulletin. London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office Vol. 9 400 pp.

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.

Noble, J.C., Tongway, D.J., Roper, M.M. & Whitford, W.G. 1996a. Fire studies in mallee (Eucalyptus spp.) communities of western New South Wales: spatial and temporal fluxes in soil chemistry and soil biology following prescribed fire. Pacific Conservation Biology 2: 398-413

Noble, J.C., Whitford, W.G. & Kaliszewski, M. 1996b. Soil and litter microarthropod populations from two contrasting ecosystems in semi-arid eastern Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 32: 329-346

OConnor, B.M. 2009. Cohort Astigmatina. pp. 565–657 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

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

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