Oplitis

Belongs within: Uropodoidea.

Oplitis is a genus of relatively small, weakly sclerotised uropodoid mites that are mostly found in association with ants. They are characterised by the presence of a forked pilus dentilis and usually a well-defined perigenital field (Evans & Till 1979).

Characters (from Evans & Till 1979): Weakly sculptured species typically with well-defined perigenital field; dorsal shield not divided; cheliceral shaft lacking sclerotised spoon-like process above dorsal seta, levator tendon of movable finger with sclerotised node; forked pilus dentilis present; pedofossae present; femur I with eight setae; genu I with pair of ventral setae.

<==Oplitis Berlese 1884H98 [incl. Urodiscella Berlese 1903ET79, Uroplitella Berlese 1903H98]
    |--*O. paradoxa (Canestrini & Berlese 1884)ET79 (see below for synonymy)
    |--O. acinacaLKW09
    |--O. aktius Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. alienorum Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. anisus Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. apicata (Banks 1916) [=Uropoda apicata]H98
    |--O. arboricavi Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. attaae Hirschmann 1972FH93
    |--O. belizensisVKC07
    |--O. blufftonensis Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. carteretensis Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. castrisimilis Zirngiebl-Nicol & Hirschmann 1973VKC07
    |--O. cheleuta Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. circularis (Miller 1925) [=Uroplitella circularis]FH93
    |--O. communis Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. comparata (Banks 1916) [=Uroplitella comparata]H98
    |--O. dakotensis McDaniel & Bolen 1980FH93
    |--O. delicta Fox 1957FH93
    |--O. dictyoeides Zirngiebl-Nicol & Hirschmann 1973FH93
    |--O. disparata (Banks 1916) [=Uroplitella disparata]H98
    |--O. exopodi Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. exsectoidesorum Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. fraterna (Banks 1916) [=Uropoda fraterna]H98
    |--O. garibaldii Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. granulatus Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. internata (Banks 1916) [=Uropoda internata]H98
    |--O. litoralis Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. macclellani Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. margaritaensis Hirschmann 1979FH93
    |--O. meliponarum (Turk 1948) [=Uroplitana meliponarum]FH93
    |--O. moseri Hirschmann 1972FH93
    |--O. nitida (Womersley 1959) [=Urodiscella nitida]H98
    |--O. peckisimilisVKC07
    |--O. pennsylvanica (Berlese 1903) [=Uroplitella pennsylvanica]FH93
    |--O. piedmontensis Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--‘Uropoda’ ricasoliana Berl. 1889 [=*Urodiscella ricasoliana]E57
    |--O. sarcinulus Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. termitophilaLKW09
    |--O. testigosensis (Sellnick 1963) [=Cariboplitis testigosensis]FH93
    |--O. trachymyrmecon Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93
    |--O. uncinata Zirngiebl-Nicol & Hirschmann 1973VKC07
    `--O. virgilinus Hunter & Farrier 1976FH93

*Oplitis paradoxa (Canestrini & Berlese 1884)^ET79 [=Uropoda paradoxa^FH93, Uroplitella paradoxa^S22; incl. Uropoda paradoxoides Oudemans 1903^FH93]

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[E57] Evans, G. O. 1957. An introduction to the British Mesostigmata (Acarina) with keys to families and genera. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 43: 203–259.

[ET79] Evans, G. O., & W. M. Till. 1979. Mesostigmatic mites of Britain and Ireland (Chelicerata: Acari-Parasitiformes). An introduction to their external morphology and classification. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 35: 139–270.

[FH93] Farrier, M. H., & M. K. Hennessey. 1993. Soil-inhabiting and free-living Mesostigmata (Acari-Parasitiformes) from North America: an annotated checklist with bibliography and index. North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, North Carolina State University, Technical Bulletin 302: i–xvi, 1–408.

[H98] Halliday, R. B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.

[LKW09] Lindquist, E. E., G. W. Krantz & D. E. Walter. 2009. Order Mesostigmata. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 124–232. Texas Tech University Press.

[S22] Schweizer, J. 1922. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der terrestrischen Milbenfauna der Schweiz. Verhandl. Naturf. Ges. Basel 33: 23–112, 4 pls.

[VKC07] Vázquez, M. M., H. Klompen & C. I. Chargoy. 2007. Study of the Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata) in tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico and Belize. In: Morales-Malacara, J. B., V. M. Behan-Pelletier, E. Ueckermann, T. M. Pérez, E. G. Estrada-Venegas & M. Badii (eds) Acarology XI: Proceedings of the International Congress pp. 43–50. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.