Family PROTOPLOPHORIDAE Ewing, 1917

Museums

Regional Maps

• Protoplophorinae Ewing, H.E. 1917. A synopsis of the genera of beetle mites with special reference to the North American fauna. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 10: 117-132.

Introduction

The family Protoplophoridae includes nine genera and 48 species (Schatz et al. 2011). The family is found mainly in Europe, Central America, and east Africa (reviewed by Niedbała 2004). Nothing is known of their feeding behaviour (Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009). A few species occur in Asia, and there is one record from Australia, of Protoplophora grandjeani Bernini, based on specimens reported by Lee (1981). The ambiguity surrounding the identity of this species was reviewed by Colloff & Halliday (1998). Niedbała (2004) published a map showing a record of Prototritia in southern Australia, but this appears to be an error, which should have referred to Protoplophora.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

Protoplophoridae: Protoplophora palpalis Berlese, 1910 — Berlese, A. 1910. Acari nuovi. Manipulus V, VI. Redia. Giornale di entomologia, Firenze 6: 199-234 pls XVIII-XXI

General References

Colloff, M.J. & Halliday, R.B. 1998. Oribatid Mites: A Catalogue of the Australian Genera and Species. Melbourne : CSIRO Publications.

Lee, D.C. 1981. Sarcoptiformes (Acari) of South Australian soils. 1. Notation. 2. Bifemorata and Ptyctima (Cryptostigmata). Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 18: 199-222

Niedbała, W. 2004. Protoplophoridae (Acari: Oribatida) of the world. Annales Zoologici, Warszawa 54: 807–834

Norton, R.A. & Behan-Pelletier, V.M. 2009. Suborder Oribatida. pp. 430–564 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

Schatz, H., Behan-Pelletier, V.M., OConnor, B.M. & Norton, R.A. 2011. Suborder Oribatida van der Hammen, 1968. pp. 141–148 in Zhang, Z.-Q. Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness. Auckland : Magnolia Press.

History of changes