Family TECTOCEPHEIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Museums

Regional Maps

• Tectocepheidae Grandjean, F. 1954. Essai de classification des Oribates (Acariens). Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 78: 421-446.

Introduction

In the classification of Schatz et al. (2011), the family Tectocepheidae is cosmopolitan and includes four genera and 33 species. The placement of some genera in this family has been variable, and the family and genus classification is not resolved (Norton & Behan-Pelletier, 2009). Subias (2011) listed only two genera and 19 species. Some of the species are divided into subspecies and have an extensive list of synonyms, so it is clear that the family has not yet achieved a stable classification. Tectocepheidae occur in leaf litter and soil, including disturbed habitats (Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009). The Australian fauna includes a single identified species from moss and Eucalyptus litter at a number of sites in South Australia, and a series of records of specimens identified only to the genus or family level (for example Walter & Stirling, 2018).

General References

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.

Subias, L.S February 2011. Listado sistemático, sinonímico y biogeográfico de los ácaros oribátidos (Acariformes: Oribatida) del mundo (excepto fósiles). Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain. http://www.ucm.es/info/zoo/Artropodos/Catalogo.pdf [date of access 1 October 2011]

Walter, D.E. & Stirling, G.R. 2018. Microarthropods in Australian sugarcane soils: A survey with emphasis on the Mesostigmata as potential regulators of nematode populations. Acarologia 58: 673-682.

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