Infraorder SEJINA

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The mite suborder Sejina is considered to be the most primitive suborder of Mesostigmata. The group has had a complex history, and in some of the early literature it included a heterogeneous mixture of mites that are now placed in quite different groups. The suborder as currently defined includes about 60 species in three families and nine genera, in the single superfamily Sejoidea. Hirschmann (1991) and Hirschmann et al. (1991a, 1991b) attempted a world-wide revision of the whole suborder, and Lekveishvili & Klompen (2004, 2006) used molecular and morphological data to revise the classification. Lindquist et al. (2009) recognised the families Sejidae, Ichthyostomatogasteridae, and Uropodellidae, and that classification is used here.

Sejina are usually large highly ornamented mites that occur in leaf litter and rotting wood in tropical and subtropical climates, and are believed to be predatory (Lindquist et al., 2009).

General References

Hirschmann, W. 1991. Gangststematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 529. Weltweite revision der Ganggattung Sejus C. L. Koch 1836 (Trichopygidiina) - Gangmerkmale - Stadienmerkmale - Bestimmungstabellen. Acarologie. Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 38: 107-135

Hirschmann, W., Kaczmarek, S. & Wiśniewski, J. 1991a. Gangsystematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 531. Weltweite revision der Ganggattung Sejus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Trichopygidiina). Beine und Palpen der Sejus-Arten. Acarologie. Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 38: 215–221

Hirschmann, W., Wiśniewski, J., & Kaczmarek, S. 1991b. Gangsystematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 530. Weltweite Revision der Ganggattung Sejus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Trichopygidiina). Neubeschreibung von 26 Sejus Arten Wiederbeschreibung der Typenart. Acarologie. Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 38: 136–214

Lekveishvili, M. & Klompen, H. 2004. Phylogeny of infraorder Sejina (Acari: Mesostigmata). Zootaxa 629: 1–19

Lekveishvili, M. & Klompen, H. 2006. New classification of the family Sejidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) based on morphological analyses. Journal of Natural History 40: 2317–2339

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.

History of changes