Hermannia Nicolet

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 82-83

Hermannia Nicolet , 1855

Hermannia Nicolet, 1855, pp. 418, 421, 468; Berlese, 1892d, fasc. 67 (10); 1896b, p. 31; 1913a, p. 156.

Nicolet (1855, p. 418) designated Nothrus piceus as the type of Hermannia , but on p. 421 he names the type-species Hermannia crassipes and mentions Nothrus piceus as a synonym 1). In fact Hermannia crassipes is a synonym of Nothrus gibbus C. L. Koch . There is, however, no doubt about the identity of the type-species. The other species that Nicolet contributed to the genus Hermannia ( granulata and arrecta ) now belong to a different group (genus Hermanniella , fam. Hermanniellidae ).

At first Berlese contributed also a number of species to the genus, which are now regarded as representatives of the genera Hermanniella , Nanhermannia , and Platynothrus . The present conception of Hermannia is, however, already found in Berlese's later work (cf. Berlese, 1913a, p. 157). In my opinion the genus must be subdivided into a gibba-group ( Hermannia s.str., species: gibba , convexa ) and a scabra-group ( new genus to be defined; species: scabra , subglabra , reticulata ). A monograph of the family is, however, in course of preparation. For the moment Berlese's species are still classified with the genus Hermannia .

1) Radford (1950, p. 181) remarks that the type of Hermannia was designated by Sig Thor (1931) in "Die Tierwelt Deutschlands" vol. 22, p. 113). The genus is indeed dealt with in this volume, but Willmann is the author of pp. 79-200. Radford overlooked, however, that Nicolet himself designated the type.