Macrochelidae is a family of

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

s in the order

Mesostigmata Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They c ...

Description

Adult females of Macrochelidae have: an undivided dorsal shield bearing at least 28 pairs of

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

, a sternal shield with three pairs of setae, a genital shield with one pair of setae and with a pair of conspicuous accessory

sclerites A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning " hard") is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly ...

beneath lateral margins, usually a ventrianal shield with 1–5 pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae, peritreme usually looped around stigma, and movable cheliceral digit usually with a well-developed arthrodial brush at the base. Adult males are similar but with a holoventral shield or separate sternigenital and ventrianal shields.

Reproduction

Macrochelidae reproduce sexually and some can also reproduce asexually. Species of ''Geholaspis'' and ''Macrocheles'' can perform

thelytoky Thelytoky (from the Greek ''thēlys'' "female" and ''tokos'' "birth") is a type of parthenogenesis in which females are produced from unfertilized eggs, as for example in aphids. Thelytokous parthenogenesis is rare among animals and reported in a ...

, the production of female offspring from unfertilised eggs. Species of ''Glyptholaspis'', ''Holostaspella'' and ''Macrocheles'' can perform

arrhenotoky Arrhenotoky (from Greek -τόκος ''-tókos'' "birth of -" + ἄρρην ''árrhēn'' "male person"), also known as arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, is a form of parthenogenesis in which unfertilized eggs develop into males. In most cases, parthen ...

, the production of male offspring from unfertilised eggs.

Ecology

Mites of this family are predators. The majority of species are coprophilous, meaning they live in animal dung and feed on the prey available there (

oligochaete Oligochaeta () is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworm ...

worms,

nematodes The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broa ...

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

eggs and larvae). Dung offers high prey availability and shelter from the weather, but it is a temporary resource. Melicharids therefore attach to insects (e.g. scarab beetles or flies) to be carried to fresh dung deposits; this is known as

phoresis Phoresis or phoresy is a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites s ...

. Adult females tend to be the ones that engage in phoresis, though males and nymphs can do it as well. Some macrochelids are believed to be facultatively

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

on their hosts, rather than phoretic. An example is ''

Macrocheles muscaedomesticae ''Macrocheles muscaedomesticae'' is a species of mite in the family Macrochelidae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution. This mite species feeds on flies in their egg, larval and (possibly) adult stages, and also attaches to adult flies for disp ...

'' on flies. Other macrochelids occupy habitats such as forest litter, decaying plant debris, beach wrack or the nests of various animals.

Biological control

Because of their predatory nature, some macrochelids have potential as

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically als ...

agents of pest insects, such as flies and thrips. The species ''Macrocheles robustulus'' is commercially available for this purpose.

Taxonomy

Macrochelidae contains the following genera and species: '' Aethosoma'' Krantz, 1962 *''Aethosoma burchellestes'' Krantz, 1962 '' Ancistrocheles'' Krantz, 1962 *''Ancistrocheles bregetovae'' Krantz, 1962 '' Andhrolaspis'' Türk, 1948 *''Andhrolaspis trinitatis'' Türk, 1948 '' Bellatocheles'' van Driel & Loots, 1975 *''Bellatocheles variatus'' van Driel & Loots, 1975 '' Calholaspis'' Berlese, 1918 *''Calholaspis superbus'' Berlese, 1918 *''Calholaspis taiwanicus'' Tseng, 1993 '' Cophrolaspis'' Berlese, 1918 *''Cophrolaspis glabra'' (Müller, 1859) '' Evholocelaeno'' Berlese, 1918 *''Evholocelaeno bursiformis'' (Berlese, 1910) '' Geholaspis'' Berlese, 1918 *'' Geholaspis aeneus'' Krauss, 1970 *''Geholaspis alpina'' (Berlese, 1887) *'' Geholaspis asper'' Valle, 1953 *'' Geholaspis berlesei'' Valle, 1953 *''Geholaspis bianchii'' Valle & Mazzoleni, 1967 *'' Geholaspis comelicensis'' Lombardini, 1962 *'' Geholaspis foroliviensis'' Lombardini, 1943 *'' Geholaspis hortorum'' (Berlese, 1904) *'' Geholaspis ilvana'' Valle & Mazzoleni, 1967 *'' Geholaspis lagrecai'' Valle, 1963 *''Geholaspis longispinosa'' (Kramer, 1876) *''Geholaspis longula'' (Berlese, 1882) *'' Geholaspis mandibularis'' (Berlese, 1904) *'' Geholaspis pauperior'' (Berlese, 1918) '' Glyptholaspis'' Filipponi & Pegazzano, 1960 *''Glyptholaspis americana'' (Berlese, 1888) *''Glyptholaspis asperrima'' (Berlese, 1905) *''Glyptholaspis baichengensis'' Ma, 1997 *''Glyptholaspis cariasoi'' de-Jesus & Rueda, 1990 *''Glyptholaspis confusa'' (Foà, 1900) *''Glyptholaspis filipponii'' Roy, 1988 *'' Glyptholaspis fimicola'' (Sellnick, 1931) *''Glyptholaspis indica'' Roy, 1988 *''Glyptholaspis orientalis'' Iavorschi, 1980 *''Glyptholaspis pontina'' Filipponi & Pegazzano, 1960 *''Glyptholaspis thorri'' van-Driel, Loots & Marais, 1977 *''Glyptholaspis wuhouyongi'' Ma, 1997 '' Gonatothrix'' G. W. Krantz, 1988 *''Gonatothrix carinata'' G. W. Krantz, 1988 '' Holocelaeno'' Berlese, 1910 *''Holocelaeno mitis'' Berlese, 1910 '' Holostaspella'' Berlese, 1903 *''Holostaspella ateucha'' Halliday, 1988 *'' Holostaspella bifoliata'' (Trägårdh, 1952) *''Holostaspella caelata'' Berlese, 1910 *''Holostaspella congoensis'' (van Driel & Loots, 1975) *''Holostaspella crenulata'' Krantz, 1967 *'' Holostaspella exornata'' Filipponi & Pegazzano, 1967 *''Holostaspella foai'' Berlese, 1910 *''Holostaspella halawanyii'' Ibrahim, 1992 *''Holostaspella krantzi'' Roy, 1988 *'' Holostaspella macula'' Karg, 1979 *'' Holostaspella moderata'' Berlese, 1920 *''Holostaspella orientalis'' Roy, 1988 *'' Holostaspella scatophila'' Takaku, 1994 *''Holostaspella sculpta'' Berlese, 1903 *''Holostaspella similiornata'' Roy, 1988 *''Holostaspella tropicalis'' Roy, 1991 *'' Holostaspella tuberilinea'' (Karg, 1994) '' Lordocheles'' Krantz, 1961 *''Lordocheles desaegeri'' Krantz, 1961 '' Macrocheles'' Latreille, 1829 * See '' Macrocheles'' '' Neoholaspis'' Türk, 1948 *''Neoholaspis coprophilus'' Türk, 1948 '' Neopodocinum'' Oudemans, 1902 *'' Neopodocinum caputmedusae'' (Berlese, 1908) *''Neopodocinum dehongense'' Li & Chang, 1979 *''Neopodocinum galfyi'' Samsinak & Daniel, 1978 *''Neopodocinum gigantum'' Gu & Li, 1987 *'' Neopodocinum halimunensis'' Hartini & Takaku, 2003 *'' Neopodocinum jaspersi'' Oudemans, 1902 *''Neopodocinum magna'' Krantz, 1965 *''Neopodocinum maius'' Berlese, 1911 *''Neopodocinum petrovae'' Davydova, 1979 *''Neopodocinum sinicum'' Li & Gu, 1987 *''Neopodocinum spinirostris'' (Berlese, 1910) *'' Neopodocinum subjaspersi'' Hartini & Takaku, 2003 *'' Neopodocinum vanderhammeni'' Krantz, 1965 *''Neopodocinum wainsteini'' Arutunian, 1993 *''Neopodocinum yunnanense'' Li & Gu, 1987 '' Nothrholaspis'' Berlese, 1918 *''Nothrholaspis tridentatus'' (G.& R. Canestrini, 1882) '' Proholaspina'' Berlese, 1918 *''Proholaspina micrarhena'' (Berlese, 1916) '' Synaphasis'' Krantz, 1961 *''Synaphasis congoensis'' Krantz, 1961 '' Tigonholaspis'' Vitzthum, 1930 *''Tigonholaspis saiti'' Vitzthum, 1930 '' Tricholaspis'' Evans, 1956 *''Tricholaspis marginipilis'' Evans, 1956 '' Tricholocelaeno'' Berlese, 1918 *''Tricholocelaeno longicoma'' (Berlese, 1910) '' Trigonholaspis'' Vitzthum, 1930 *'' Trigonholaspis trigonarum'' (Vitzthum, 1930) '' Venatiolaspis'' van Driel & Loots, 1975 *''Venatiolaspis pilosus'' van Driel & Loots, 1975

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3274878 Mesostigmata Acari families