Holothyrida

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. They mainly feed on the body fluids of dead arthropods. This was possibly the common way of feeding for ticks before they adapted for feeding on the blood of live animals.[1]

Holothyrida
Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Subclass:	Acari
Superorder:	Parasitiformes
Order:	Holothyrida
Families
See text.
Diversity
10 genera, > 25 species

Although only 25 species are currently described, many others have been collected.

The order has a Gondwanan distribution. They are likely the sister group to Ixodida (ticks).[2]

Systematics

Allothyridae

Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972 — Australia

• 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

• 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

• Diplothyrus Lehtinen, 1999

• Diplothyrus schubarti Lehtinen, 1999

• Neothyrus Lehtinen, 1981

• Neothyrus ana Lehtinen, 1981

Footnotes

1. Walter & Proctor 1998
2. Dobson & Barker 1999

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
• Walter, D. E. & Proctor, H. C. (1998): Feeding behaviour and phylogeny: observations on early derivative Acari. Exp. Appl. Acarol 22: 39-50.
• Dobson, S. J. & Barker, S. C. (1999): Phylogeny of the hard ticks (Ixodidae) inferred from 18S rRNA indicates that the genus Aponomma is paraphyletic. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol 11: 288-295 PMID 10191073