The Holothyrida are a small order of
mites
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...
in the superorder
Parasitiformes
Parasitiformes are a superorder of Arachnids, constituting one of the two major groups of mites, alongside Acariformes. Parasitiformes has, at times, been classified at the rank of order or suborder.
It is uncertain whether Parasitiformes and Ac ...
. No fossils are known. With body lengths of more than 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
Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...
, making them
scavengers
Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding ...
.
The order has a distribution largely confined to former
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
n landmasses. They are the
sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
to
Ixodida
Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks ar ...
(ticks).
Systematics
Allothyridae
Allothyridae
van der Hammen, 1972 —
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, 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
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
* ''
Lindothyrus''
Lehtinen, 1995
** ''
Lindothyrus elongatus''
Lehtinen, 1995 —
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...
** ''
Lindothyrus rubellus''
Lehtinen, 1995 —
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
* ''
Indothyrus''
Lehtinen, 1995
** ''
Indothyrus greeni''
Lehtinen, 1995 —
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
* ''
Haplothyrus''
Lehtinen, 1995
**''
Haplothyrus expolitissimus''
(Berlese, 1924) — New Caledonia
** ''
Haplothyrus hyatti''
Lehtinen, 1995 — unknown locality
* ''
Holothyrus''
Gervais, 1842 —
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
** ''
Holothyrus coccinella''
Gervais, 1842
** ''
Holothyrus legendrei''
Hammen, 1983
* ''
Hammenius''
Lehtinen, 1981
** ''
Hammenius armatus''
(Canestrini, 1897) —
Tamara Island (
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 18,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of th ...
): New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius berlesei''
(Lehtinen, 1995) — New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius braueri''
(Thon, 1906)
** ''
Hammenius fujuge''
Lehtinen, 1981 —
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
(Central District, Oro Province)
** ''
Hammenius grandjeani''
(Hammen, 1961) —
Mount Bosavi
Mount Bosavi is a mountain in the Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. It is the collapsed cone of an extinct volcano on the Great Papuan Plateau, part of the Kikori River basin.Feld, pp.3–4 The crater is approximately 4 km wid ...
: New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius holthuisi''
van der Hammen, 1983
** ''
Hammenius ingii''
Lehtinen, 1981 — New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius insularis''
Lehtinen, 1995 —
Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea.
It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread o ...
: New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius longipes''
(Thorell, 1882) — Fly River, New Guinea (?)
** ''
Hammenius mendi''
(Lehtinen, 1995) —
Strickland River
The Strickland River is a major river in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. It is the longest and largest tributary of the Fly River with a total length of including the ''Lagaip River'' the farthest distance river source of the Strickl ...
: New Guinea
** ''
Hammenius montanus''
Hammen, 1983 —
Irian Jaya
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Austral ...
** ''
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.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1139948
Parasitiformes
Arachnid orders