The Holothyrida are a small order of mites in the superorder Parasitiformes. No fossils are known. With body lengths of more than 2 mm (3⁄32 in) they are relatively large mites, with a heavily sclerotized body. It is divided into three families, Allothyridae, Holothyridae, and Neothyridae. In a 1998 experimental study, members of the family Allothyridae were found to ignore living animals but readily fed on the body fluids of dead arthropods, making them scavengers.
The order has a distribution largely confined to former Gondwanan landmasses. They are the sister group to Ixodida (ticks).
Systematics
Allothyridae
Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972 — Australia, New Zealand
- Allothyrus van der Hammen, 1961
- Allothyrus australasiae (Womersley, 1935)
- Allothyrus constrictus (Domrow, 1955)
- Australothyrus van der Hammen, 1983
- Australothyrus ocellatus van der Hammen, 1983
Holothyridae
Holothyridae Thorell, 1882 Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean islands, New Guinea, New Caledonia
- Sternothyrus Lehtinen, 1995
- Sternothyrus braueri (Thon, 1905) — Seychelles
- Lindothyrus Lehtinen, 1995
- Lindothyrus elongatus Lehtinen, 1995 — Lord Howe Island
- Lindothyrus rubellus Lehtinen, 1995 — New Caledonia
- Indothyrus Lehtinen, 1995
- Indothyrus greeni Lehtinen, 1995 — Sri Lanka
- Haplothyrus Lehtinen, 1995
- Haplothyrus expolitissimus (Berlese, 1924) — New Caledonia
- Haplothyrus hyatti Lehtinen, 1995 — unknown locality
- Holothyrus Gervais, 1842 — Mauritius
- Holothyrus coccinella Gervais, 1842
- Holothyrus legendrei Hammen, 1983
- Hammenius Lehtinen, 1981
- Hammenius armatus (Canestrini, 1897) — Tamara Island (Aitape): New Guinea
- Hammenius berlesei (Lehtinen, 1995) — New Guinea
- Hammenius braueri (Thon, 1906)
- Hammenius fujuge Lehtinen, 1981 — New Guinea (Central District, Oro Province)
- Hammenius grandjeani (Hammen, 1961) — Mount Bosavi: New Guinea
- Hammenius holthuisi van der Hammen, 1983
- Hammenius ingii Lehtinen, 1981 — New Guinea
- Hammenius insularis Lehtinen, 1995 — Louisiade Archipelago: New Guinea
- Hammenius longipes (Thorell, 1882) — Fly River, New Guinea (?)
- Hammenius mendi (Lehtinen, 1995) — Strickland River: New Guinea
- Hammenius montanus Hammen, 1983 — Irian Jaya
- Hammenius niger (Thon, 1906)
Neothyridae
Neothyridae Lehtinen, 1981 Northern South America and the Caribbean
- Diplothyrus Lehtinen, 1999 Brazil, French Guiana
- Diplothyrus schubarti Lehtinen, 1999
- Diplothyrus lecorrei Klompen 2010
- Diplothyrus lehtineni Vázquez & de Araújo & Feres 2016
- Neothyrus Lehtinen, 1981 Peru
- Neothyrus ana Lehtinen, 1981
- Caribothyrus Kontschán & Mahunka 2004 Dominican Republic
- Caribothyrus barbatus Kontschán & Mahunka 2004
Footnotes
References
- Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog: Holothyrida
- Bruce Halliday: Order Holothyrida
- Lehtinen, Pekka T. (1995): Revision of the old world Holothyridae (Arachnida : Anactinotrichida : Holothyrina). Invertebrate Taxonomy 9(4): 767-826. doi:10.1071/IT9950767
