Family PIONIDAE Thor, 1900

Museums

Regional Maps

• Pionidae Thor, S. 1900. Prodromus Systematis Hydrachnidarum. Nyt Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne, Oslo 38: 263-266.

Introduction

The Pionidae is a large and heterogeneous cosmopolitan family of water mites. The classification of the family and its constituent subfamilies has been unstable (Harvey 1998). The concept of the family used here is that of Walter et al. (2009), but I have not attempted to assign genera to subfamilies. Adults in this family can be found swimming in ponds and streams, including temporary pools, where some species have been found to prey on small crustaceans. The larvae, where they are known, are parasites of aquatic flies. The Australian fauna includes 11 species in four genera. The fauna was catalogued by Viets (1987), but a number of further taxa have been recognised since then, especially by Harvey (1996). The genus-level classification was reviewed by Smith et al. (2015).

General References

Harvey, M.S. 1996. A review of the water mite family Pionidae in Australia (Acarina: Hygrobatoidea). Records of the Western Australian Museum 17: 361-393

Harvey, M.S. 1998. The Australian Water Mites. A Guide to the Families and Genera. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 150 pp.

Smith, I.M., Cook, D.R. & Gerecke, R. 2015. Revision of the status of some genus-level water mite taxa in the families Pionidae Thor, 1900, Aturidae Thor, 1900, and Nudomideopsidae Smith, 1990. Zootaxa 3919: 111-156.

Viets, K.O. 1987. Die Milben des Süsswassers (Hydrachnellae und Halacaridae (Part.), Acari). 2. Katalog. Berlin : Paul Parey 1012 pp.

Walter, D.E., Lindquist, E.E., Smith, I.M., Cook, D.R. & Krantz, G.W. 2009. Order Trombidiformes. pp. 233-420 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

History of changes