Family PYROGLYPHIDAE Cunliffe, 1958

Museums

Regional Maps

• Pyroglyphidae Cunliffe, F. 1958. Pyroglyphus morlani, a new genus and species of mite forming a new family, Pyroglyphidae, in the Acaridiae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 60: 85-86.

Introduction

The family Pyroglyphidae includes 19 genera and 47 species world-wide (catalogued by Colloff 2009). Some genera are ectoparasites of birds, and many genera occur in birds' nests. A few genera occur in mammal nests, where they feed on dead skin and hair and other organic residues (OConnor 2009). The best known species are house dust mites, especially in the genus Dermatophagoides, which are a major cause of allergy and asthma in humans (reviewed by Colloff 2009). The Australian fauna is very limited, with only four species in three genera. Three of these species are cosmopolitan components of the house dust fauna, and the other belongs to the endemic genus Weelawadjia. Unidentified specimens were reported from rainforest by Proctor et al. (2011).

General References

Colloff, M.J. 2009. Dust Mites. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing pp. 583.

OConnor, B.M. 2009. Cohort Astigmatina. pp. 565–657 in Krantz, G.W. & Walter, D.E. (eds). A Manual of Acarology. Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press Third edition, 807 pp.

Proctor, H., Kanowski, J., Catterall, C.P., Wardell-Johnson, G. & Reis, T. 2011. Rainforest-restoration success as judged by assemblages of soil- and litter-dwelling mites (Arachnida: Acari). Zoosymposia 6: 234–254

History of changes