A REVIEW OF WATER MITES OF THE FAMILY ANISITSIELLIDAE (PROSTIGMATA: LEBERTIOIDEA) FROM NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

AbstractNearctic mites of the family Anisitsiellidae are reviewed. A key and revised diagnoses are presented for the four genera, keys to species are provided for the first time, and distributional data are reviewed for each of the 13 known species. Three original species groups of Bandakia are proposed based on knowledge of nearctic species, but with the four exotic species tentatively placed. Adults of four new nearctic species, Bandakia borealis n. sp., Bandakia oregonensis n. sp., Bandakia fragilis n. sp., and Bandakiopsis fonticola n. gen., n. sp., are described. Reared larvae of Bandakia vietsi Cook and Bandakia borealis n. sp., the first known anisitsiellid larvae, also are described providing new insight on life history and phylogeny in the Anisitsiellidae.