Family HALARACHNIDAE Oudemans, 1906

Museums

Regional Maps

• Halarachnidae Oudemans, A.C. 1906. Nieuwe classificatie der Acari. Entomologische Berichten (Amsterdam) 2(27): 43-46.

Introduction

Mites in the family Halarachnidae are parasites that occur in the nasal and respiratory passages of mammals. Some species are associated with significant veterinary disease, such as the lung mite of monkeys Pneumonyssus simicola, and the nasal mite of dogs Pneumonyssoides caninum. The genera Halarachne and Orthohalarachne occur in seals, sea otters, and walruses (reviewed by Mullen & OConnor 2009). The genus Raillietia has sometimes been placed in a separate family, but is here placed in the Halarachnidae following Lindquist et al. (2009). The Australian fauna includes eight species in four genera, which are parasites of seals, dogs, goats, and captive monkeys (catalogued by Domrow 1988).

General References

Domrow, R. 1988. Acari Mesostigmata parasitic on Australian vertebrates: an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 1: 817-948

Lindquist, E.E., Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. 2009. Order Mesostigmata. pp.124-232 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

Mullen, G.R. & OConnor, B.M. 2009. Mites (Acari). pp. 433-492 in Mullen, G.R. & Durden, L.A. Medical and Veterinary Entomology. Amsterdam : Elsevier 2.

History of changes