Nothroidea

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 60-61

7. NOTHROIDEA

Nothroidea Grandjean, 1954, p. 431.

The superfamily Nothroidea was created by Grandjean (1954); according to him it consists of the families Hermanniidae , Nothridae , Camisiidae , Nanhermanniidae , Trhypochthoniidae , and Malaconothridae .

Knülle (1957, p. 154) united Malaconothridae , Trhypochthoniidae , and a new family Trhypochthoniellidae in a new superfamily Trhypochthonoidea . The distinguishing characters mentioned by him are, however, not convincing, mainly because they do not fit in with the genera Allonothrus Van der Hammen and Archegozetes Grandjean; the same applies to the family Trhypochthoniellidae .

I have followed Grandjean's conception, but I arranged the families in a different way; the Hermanniidae are placed at the end of the group, because they have already some resemblance to the higher Oribatei.

KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF NOTHROIDEA

1. Genital and anal openings are situated in a large ventral plate............... Hermanniidae

- No special ventral plate................2

2. Diagastric (i.e. the scleritization of the notogaster continues between anal and genital openings)................ Nanhermanniidae

- Not diagastric..................3

3. The cerotegument belongs to a special type: it is birefringent and porose, and distinctly consists of shields................. Malaconothridae

- Cerotegument of a different type.............4

4. Neotrichy of the epimeres. No aggenital hairs. Only part of the genital hairs have a (less distinct) marginal Position (no neotrichy of the genital plates). Adults holotrichous .................. Nothridae

- No neotrichy of the epimeres. The genital hairs have a distinct marginal position (often neotrichy). As a rule the adults are unideficient.............5

5. Two pairs of aggenital hairs. The last Joint of the palp has 8 hairs (a included), the ventral pair is lacking. Notogaster flattened or slightly concave...................... Camisiidae

- No aggenital hairs. The last Joint of the palp has 10 hairs (" included). Notogaster slightly convex.................. Trhypochthoniidae