The Holothyrida are a small order of mites in the superorder Parasitiformes. 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, making them scavengers.

The order has a distribution largely confined to former Gondwanan landmasses. They are the sister group to Ixodida (ticks).

Systematics

Allothyridae

Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972 — Australia, 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

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 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.