Family MACRONYSSIDAE Oudemans, 1936

Museums

Regional Maps

• Macronyssidae Oudemans, A.C. 1936. Kritisch Historisch Overzicht der Acarologie, Deerde Gedeelte, 1805-1850. Leiden : E.J. Brill Vol. A 430 pp.

Introduction

The Macronyssidae is a family of ectoparasites, most of which attack bats, but with some genera found on birds and reptiles (Radovsky 1967; Lindquist et al. 2009). Some species invade houses and bite humans, including the tropical rat mite Ornithonyssus bacoti and the starling mite Ornithonyssus bursa. Ornithonyssus sylviarum is a significant pest of poultry and can bite humans, and the snake mite Ophionyssus natricis is a cosmopolitan pest of captive reptiles (reviewed by Southcott 1976; Mullen & OConnor 2009).The Australian fauna of nine genera and 28 species of Macronyssidae was reviewed by Domrow (1988), and the classification of the family was reviewed comprehensively by Radovsky (2010). Unidentified species have been recorded from Australia a number of times as listed for each genus, and unidentified Macronyssidae were also reported by Lowry (1980).

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.

Lowry, J.W.J. 1980. Ecological Relationships of Western Australian Cavernicoles. MSc. Thesis, School of Zoology, University of New South Wales. Vol. 1 367 pp., Vol. 2 204 pp. + appendices

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.

Radovsky, F.J. 1967. The Macronyssidae and Laelapidae (Acarina : Mesostigmata) parasitic on bats. University of California Publications in Entomology 46: 1-288

Radovsky, F.J. 2010. Revision of Genera of the Parasitic Mite Family Macronyssidae (Mesostigmata: Dermanyssoidea) of the World. West Bloomfield, Michigan : Indira Publishing House pp. 170.

Southcott, R.V. 1976. Arachnidism and allied syndromes in the Australian region. Records of the Adelaide Children's Hospital 1: 97-186

History of changes