Gamasiphis Berlese, 1904

Halliday, R. B., 2005, Predatory mites from crops and pastures in South Africa: potential natural enemies of redlegged earth mite Halotydeus destructor (Acari: Penthaleidae), Zootaxa 1079, pp. 11-64 : 41

Gamasiphis Berlese, 1904

Gamasiphis is a genus of about 40 species that occur in mainly tropical climates in New Caledonia, St. Lucia, Polynesia, Australia, Saint Helena, India, North and South America, and southeast Asia ( Lee, 1970; Karg, 1993c, 1996). Several species have been found in glasshouses in Europe ( Karg, 1990, 1993c). Loots (1979) recorded two undescribed species from southern Africa and Loots (1980) described two species from the Seychelles. Nothing is known of their biology except that they occur in moss, plant litter, and the upper layers of soil ( Lee, 1970). They are presumed to be predatory by analogy with other Ologamasidae .