Family OPLITIDAE Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol, 1964

Museums

Regional Maps

• Oplitinae Hirschmann, W. & Zirngiebl-Nicol, I. 1964. Gangsystematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 7. Das Gangsystem der Familie Uropodidae (Berlese 1892) Hirschmann and Zirngiebl-Nicol nov. comb. Acarologie. Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 6: 1-22 pls 1-5.

Introduction

The cosmopolitan family Oplitidae includes about 150 species. Hirschmann & Wisniewski (1993) placed all the species in the single genus Oplitis. They arranged the species in a series of species groups, which were previously treated as genera or subgenera. The European species were reviewed by Karg (1989) and Mašán (2001). They are found in moss, soil and leaf litter, and under bark, and many species have been found associated with ants or in their nests. The Australian fauna includes six species, five of which were described by Banks (1916). The descriptions provided by Banks are brief, and both the descriptions and illustrations lack some important details. The identity of all these species must be considered as unconfirmed. No new species have been added to the Australian fauna since 1959. Unidentified species were reported by Callan et al. (2011) and Majer et al. (2013).

General References

Banks, N. 1916. Acarians from Australian and Tasmanian ants and ant-nests. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 40: 224-240 pls XXIII-XXX

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

Hirschmann, W. & Wisniewski, J. 1993. Acari Parasitiformes. Supercohors Atrichopygidiina Hirschmann 1975. Die Uropodiden der Erde. Acarologie. Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 40: 1-466

Karg, W. 1989. Acari (Acarina), Milben, Unterordnung Parasitiformes (Anactinochaeta). Uropodina Kramer, Schildkrötenmilben. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meeresteile 67: 1–203

Majer, J.D., Callan, S.K., Edwards, K., Gunawardene, N.R. & Taylor, C.K. 2013. Baseline survey of the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 83: 13-112.

Mašán, P. 2001. Mites of the Cohort Uropodina (Acarina, Mesostigmata) in Slovakia. Annotationes Zoologicae et Botanicae, Bratislava 223: 1–320

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