''Sphaeroseius ecitophilus'' is a South American species of mite.

Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão (July 17, 1886 – December 14, 1948) was a Brazilian zoologist who is considered the founder of Arachnology in South America, publishing 198 papers on the taxonomy of Arachnida. He was also involved with educ ...

established the spider family Brucharachnidae in 1925 for the newly discovered genus and species from Córdoba, Argentina, ''Brucharachne ecitophila'', based on a (purportedly) female specimen. He thought it the most curious spider he had ever seen. The "Brucharachnidae" were thought to be related to the spider family Oonopidae. In 1995, Gerald W. Krantz and

Norman I. Platnick Norman Ira Platnick (December 30, 1951 – April 8, 2020) was an American biological systematist and arachnologist. At the time of his death, he was a professor emeritus of the Richard Gilder Graduate School and Peter J. Solomon Family Curator Em ...

re-examined the original specimen, and found it not to be a spider at all, but an extraordinary male mite that very much resembles a spider. He placed it under the existing myrmecophilous genus ''Sphaeroseius''. Mites of the genus ''Sphaeroseius'' have only been found in association with ecitonine army ants (''

Neivamyrmex ''Neivamyrmex'' is a genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Range ''Neivamyrmex'' species can be found from the central United States to southern Argentina. Taxonomy As of 2021, 129 ''Neivamyrmex'' species have been identified. Ho ...

'', ''

Labidus ''Labidus'' is a genus of New World army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. The genus is known from the United States to Argentina. Species *''Labidus auropubens'' (Santschi, 1920) *'' Labidus coecus'' (Latreille, 1802) *''Labidus curvipes'' (Em ...

'') in Brazil, Argentina, and possibly

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. The species name ''ecitophilus'' means "''

Eciton ''Eciton'' is a New World army ant genus that contains the most familiar species of army ants. The most predominant and well-known species is '' Eciton burchellii'', which is also more commonly known as the army ant and is considered the type spe ...

''-loving".

References

Mesostigmata Arachnids of South America Arthropods of Argentina Animals described in 1925 {{Laelapidae-stub