| Cunaxidae | |
|---|---|
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| Cunaxidae from New Zealand | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Trombidiformes |
| Superfamily: | Bdelloidea |
| Family: | Cunaxidae Thor, 1902 |
Cunaxidae is a family of predatory mites in the order Trombidiformes. There are at least 20 genera and 390 described species in Cunaxidae. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Cunaxidae have diamond-shaped bodies. Adults and nymphs have 4 pairs of 7-segmented legs, while larvae have 3 pairs of 6-segmented legs. Dorsally, they have 1 proterosomal shield (usually with 2 pairs of setae and 2 pairs of setose sensilla), 0-2 hysterosomal shields and 0-4 pairs of hysterosomal platelets. The body surface around these shields and platelets is striated. Ventrally, the leg coxae are fused to the body to form plates, and in adults the coxae of the first two leg pairs are often fused as are the coxae of the last two leg pairs. At the front of the body is the gnathosoma (mouthparts), which has a pair of pedipalps (usually ending in strong claws), a pair of chelicerae and a wedge-shaped subcapitulum. [5]
The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all continents except Antarctica. [3]
Cunaxidae can be found in most terrestrial habitats including on vegetation, in soil and leaf litter, vertebrate nests, animal debris, tree cavities, house dust and stored food products. Individual species are generally restricted to specific habitats. [5]
All cunaxids are thought to be opportunistic predators, attacking various prey including bark lice, springtails, thrips, scale insects, nematodes and other mites. They may act as ambush predators (e.g. Armascirus and Dactyloscirus) or actively search for their prey (e.g. Allocunaxa). They cannot survive when only given access to plant material. [5] An undescribed species of Rubroscirus was observed drinking honeydew in addition to eating live prey. [6]
Cunaxids spin silk for various purposes such as protecting their eggs, constructing moulting chambers and capturing prey. [5]
The family appears to be active year-round. For example, Neocunaxoides have been collected throughout the year in areas with hot humid summers and cold dry winters. [7]
Cunaxidae are known to feed on pests of agricultural plants. However, the effects they have on prey populations have yet to be rigorously studied. [5]
Schizomida, also known as sprickets or short-tailed whip-scorpions, is an order of arachnids, generally less than 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in length. The order is not yet widely studied. E. O. Wilson has identified schizomids as among the "groups of organisms that desperately need experts to work on them."
The Opiliones are an order of arachnids, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. As of July 2024, over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of extant species may exceed 10,000. The order Opiliones includes five suborders: Cyphophthalmi, Eupnoi, Dyspnoi, Laniatores, and Tetrophthalmi, which were named in 2014.
Mites are small arachnids. Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as each other's closest relative within Arachnida, rendering the group non-monophyletic. Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. The small size of most species makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially destructive Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as scabies mites of humans. Most species are harmless to humans, but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species, and terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 8,000 described species in about 250 genera. The genus Dolichopus is the most speciose, with some 600 species.
The anatomy of spiders includes many characteristics shared with other arachnids. These characteristics include bodies divided into two tagmata, eight jointed legs, no wings or antennae, the presence of chelicerae and pedipalps, simple eyes, and an exoskeleton, which is periodically shed.
The Phytoseiidae are a family of mites which feed on thrips and other mite species. They are often used as a biological control agent for managing mite pests. Because of their usefulness as biological control agents, interest in Phytoseiidae has steadily increased over the past century. Public awareness of the biological control potential of invertebrates has been growing, though mainly in the US and Europe. In 1950, there were 34 known species. Today, there are 2,731 documented species organized in 90 genera and three subfamilies.
Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They can be recognized by the single pair of spiracles positioned laterally on the body.
Erythraeidae is a family of mites belonging to the Trombidiformes. Larval forms of these mites are parasitic on various other arthropods, for example harvestmen, but the adults are free-living predators. These oval mites are rather large, usually reddish coloured and densely hairy. The legs, especially the first and fourth pairs, are long and adapted for running. They have either one or two pairs of eyes and can be distinguished from related families microscopically by the presence of a single claw on the tibia of the palp.
Tydeus is a genus of mites belonging to the family Tydeidae. These are small, usually white, mites with soft bodies covered in striations and each leg terminating in two claws.
Eriophyoidea are a superfamily of herbivorous mites. All post-embryonic instars lack the third and fourth pairs of legs, and the respiratory system is also absent.
Prostigmata is a suborder of mites belonging to the order Trombidiformes, which contains the "sucking" members of the "true mites" (Acariformes).
Raphignathoidea is a superfamily of the Acari (mite) order Trombidiformes, comprising 1087 species in 62 genera and 12 families.
The family Ameroseiidae is one of the three families of mites under the superfamily Ascoidea. There are about 12 genera and more than 130 described species in Ameroseiidae. The family has a worldwide distribution.
Geophilus flavus is a terrestrial, soil-dwelling, species of centipede in the Geophilidae family. G. flavus occurs in a range of habitats across central Europe, North America, Australia and other tropical regions. Geophilomorph centipedes, like centipedes generally, are primary predators, hunting predominantly in underground soil burrows or above ground leaf litter. Their consumption behaviours are influenced by environment and seasonal factors. Given their lack of economic value and marginal medical significance, G.flavus remains largely understudied in mainstream research. Some recent studies have detailed the evolutionary development of G.flavus and Geophilidae generally, illustrating developed predatory features like forcipule venom glands.
Blattisociidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata.
Hibbertopteridae is a family of eurypterids, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. They were members of the superfamily Mycteropoidea. Hibbertopterids were large, broad and heavy animals unlike virtually every other group of eurypterids, which are commonly streamlined and lightweight. Their bizarre morphology is so unusual that they in the past have been thought to represent an entirely distinct order of chelicerates. Fossils of the family first appear in deposits of Middle Devonian age and the last known fossils representing hibbertopterids are known from deposits of Late Permian age. The hibbertopterids represent the last known living eurypterids, going extinct during the Permian–Triassic extinction event or shortly before.
Necrogammarus salweyi is the binomial name applied to an arthropod fossil discovered in Herefordshire, England. The fossil represents a fragmentary section of the underside and an appendage of a pterygotid eurypterid, a group of large and predatory aquatic arthropods that lived from the late Silurian to the late Devonian. The Necrogammarus fossil is Late Silurian in age and its generic name means "dead lobster", deriving from Ancient Greek νεκρός and Latin gammarus ("lobster").
Halacaridae is a family of meiobenthic mites found in marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats around the world. It includes more than 1100 described species belonging to 64 genera It is the largest marine radiation of arachnids.
Stigmaeidae is a family of prostigmatan mites in the order Trombidiformes. At over 600 species, it is the largest family in superfamily Raphignathoidea. It has a worldwide distribution.
p. 2-4, Cunaxids occur in most terrestrial habitats, including...
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