LOHMANNIIDAE

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 56-57

LOHMANNIIDAE Berlese, 1916

The history of the conception of the present family is, more than in many other groups, a history of misunderstanding. The first-known species was described in 1884 by Haller as Michaelia paradoxa ; the description is accompanied by rather detailed figures that represent a large mite of exceptional habitus. Because Michaelia had already been in use for a mite of a different group, Michael (1898) altered the generic name into Lohmannia 1).

Canestrini (1891) and Banks (1895) regarded the type of the genus as belonging to the nymphal stage; some years after, the former (Canestrini, 1897, 1898) nevertheless described a related species as a Hermannia ( Hermannia rubescens ). Berlese (1896) described another related species as Angelia murcioides ( Angelia is a synonym of Nothrus ). In the same year Berlese (1896b) thought that it was possible to classify M. paradoxa in the genus Angelia , between Angelia murcioides and A. monodactyla (now Malaconothrus ), unless it would prove to be a larva (!); I remark that in the same note Berlese erroneously regarded the type of Michaelia paradoxa as originating from America.

As mentioned above Michael (1898) altered the name Michaelia into Lohmannia ; he added Angelia murcioides to the genus. In 1904 Berlese followed Michael's conception, but for unknown reason he spelt the generic name with an additional 0 (Lohomannia, Berlese, 1904b); he added several new species of which nowadays L. murcioides var. aciculata only belong to the Lohmanniidae .

In an outline of the System of the Acari, Berlese (1913a, p. 8) created a tribe Michaeliini (subdivision of the Nothridae ), a heterogeneous collection of genera among which he mentions Lohmannia as well as Michaelia (!) 2).

In 1916 Berlese created, however, a new tribe Lohmannini (Berlese, 1916a, p. 176), as subdivision of the Malaconothridae ; this time the tribe consisted of the genera Lohmannia , Perlohmannia , Epilohmannia , Malacoangelia , and Eulohmannia .

Oudemans (1917) created a separate family for the genus Lesseria Oudemans (a synonym of Epilohmannia ), whilst Grandjean (1931, p. 144) further restricted the Lohmanniidae to the single genus Lohmannia ; many new genera and species are since distinguished and added to the family.

Those of Berlese's " Lohmannia " species that indeed belong to the Lohmanniidae are insufficiently described, several types are no more present, so that the following representatives of the family are only preliminarily classified.

1) The generic name Michaelia has been created within two months by three authors, viz.

1. Michaelia Troussart (November, 1884; type: Dermalichus hetcropus Michael , 1881);

2. Michaelia Haller (December 18, 1884; now Lohmannia Michael, 1898; type: Michaelia paradoxa Haller , 1884);

3. Michaelia Berlese (December 29, 1884; now Bimichaelia Sig Thor, 1902; type: Michaelia augustana Berlese , 1884).

Radford (1952, pp. 64, 165, 176) correctly regards Michaelia Haller, and Michaelia Berlese as preoccupied, but mentions Michaelia Trouessart (1884) as a synonym of Michaelichus (Trouessart & Megnin, 1885!).

2) The complete list of the genera in question is: Lohmannia , Eulohmannia , Michaelia , Malaconothrus , Malacoangelia , Archeonothrus . I remark that the name Michaeliini would result in a family-name Michaeliidae that certainly must he suppressed for purposes of synonymy.