Opilioacaridae

Opilioacaridae
Temporal range: Cenomanian–Recent
Specimens of Opilioacarus baeticus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Superorder: Parasitiformes
Order: Opilioacarida
Superfamily: Opilioacaroidea
Johnston, 1968
Family: Opilioacaridae
With, 1902
Synonyms[1]
  • Notostigmata
  • Onychopalpida
  • Opilioacariformes
Specimens of Neocarus proteus

Opilioacaridae is the sole family of mites in the order Opilioacarida, made up of about 13 genera.[2][3][1] The mites of this family are rare, large (1.5 to 2.5 mm) mites, and are widely considered primitive, as they retain six pairs of eyes, and abdominal segmentation.[4] They have historically been considered separate from other mites belonging to Acariformes and Parasitiformes, but are now generally considered a subgroup of Parasitiformes based on molecular phylogenetics.[5]

The first member of the Opilioacarida to be discovered was the Algerian species Opilioacarus segmentatus, which was described by Carl Johannes With in 1902, followed by the Sicilian Eucarus italicus and Eucarus arabicus from Aden, both in 1904.[6] Two fossil specimens are known, one of which was discovered in Baltic amber from the Eocene,[7] while the other one was discovered in the Burmese amber from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) around 99 million years old, tentatively assigned to the living genus Opilioacarus.[8]

Members of the group live in semi-arid and tropical environments in leaf-litter, under rocks and in caves. Their diet is known to include arthropod carcasses, fungal spores, and pollen.[9]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gbif was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Beaulieu2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeAraújo2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dunlop2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Vázquez, Maria Magdalena; Ávila Herrera, Ivalú Macarena; Just, Pavel; Reyes Lerma, Azucena Claudia; Chatzaki, Maria; Heller, Tim Lukas; Král, Jiří (2021-09-30). "A new opilioacarid species (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida) from Crete (Greece) with notes on its karyotype". Acarologia. 61 (3): 548–563. doi:10.24349/acarologia/20214449. S2CID 236270478.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Harvey2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Jason A. Dunlop; Jörg Wunderlich & George O. Poinar Jr. (2003). "The first fossil opilioacariform mite (Acari: Opilioacariformes) and the first Baltic amber camel spider (Solifugae)". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 94 (3): 261–273. doi:10.1017/S0263593300000663. S2CID 85646963.
  8. ^ Jason A. Dunlop & Leopoldo Ferreira de Oliveira Bernardi (2014). "An opilioacarid mite in Cretaceous Burmese amber". Naturwissenschaften. 101 (9): 759–763. doi:10.1007/s00114-014-1212-0. PMID 25027588. S2CID 253637881.
  9. ^ Moraza, María L.; Prieto, Carlos E.; Balanzategui, Iñaki (2021-03-30). "A new species of the genus Opilioacarus With, 1902 (Acari: Opilioacarida) for the Iberian Peninsula". Acarologia. 61 (1): 128–147. doi:10.24349/acarologia/20214422. S2CID 233786254.