Afrotydeus

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Tydeoidea
Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Unikonta Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Cladus: Protostomia Cladus: Ecdysozoa Cladus: Panarthropoda Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Classis: Arachnida Subclassis: Acari Superordo: Acariformes Ordo: Trombidiformes Subordo: Prostigmata Cohort: Eupodina Superfamilia: Tydeoidea

Familia: Tydeidae
Subfamilia: Tydeinae
Genus: Afrotydeus
Species (5): A. flabelliferus – A. kenyensis – A. novaezealandiae – A. smileyi – A. zairensis

Name

Afrotydeus Baker, 1970

• Original status: subgenus
• Gender: masculine
• Type species: Tydeus munsteri by original designation (Baker, 1970: 165)

Synonyms

• Tydeus: Tydeus munsteri, original combination used by Meyer & Ryke (1959)
• Tydeus (Afrotydeus), subgenus proposed by Baker (1970)
• Afrotydeus, genus rank proposed by André (1980: 107)

Notes

• Afrotydeus was erected by Baker (1970) as subgenus of Tydeus to accommodate three species: munsteri, kenyensis, and meyerae. These three species exhibit three different leg chaetotaxies.
• The subgenus was raised to full genus rank by André (1980: 106–107).
• The type species is not kenyensis as erroneously indicated by André (1980: 107), Kaźmierski (1998: 354) and Silva et al. (2016: 8).
• The genus is listed by Silva et al. (2016: 8).

Discussion

• The type species, T. munsteri, would have 12 genitals and not 8 as described by Baker (1970). In other words, the type species would have the same chaetotaxy as that of Tydeus (see Tydeus munsteri for further information).
• A second species, meyerae, was moved to the genus Perafrotydeus by André (1980: 142).
• The other species currently included in the genus Afrotydeus might remain together in a new genus with a similar name (e.g. Afritydeus) and with Afrotydeus kenyensis as the type species. This will remove any ambiguities regarding the type-species and accord with ICZN.

References

• André, H.M. 1980. A generic revision of the family Tydeidae (Acari: Actinedida). IV. Generic descriptions, keys and conclusions. Bulletin et Annales de la Société Royale Belge d’Entomologie 116: 103–130, 139–168. Reference page. 
• Baker, E.W. 1970. The genus Tydeus: subgenera and species group with descriptions of new species (Acarina: Tydeidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 63: 163–177. Reference page. 
• Kaźmierski, A. 1998. Tydeinae of the world: generic relationships, new and redescribed taxa and keys to all species. A revision of the subfamilies Pretydeinae and Tydeinae (Acari: Actinedida: Tydeidae) – part IV. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 41(2): 283–455. Reference page. 
• Meyer, M.K.P. & Ryke, P.A.J. 1959. New species of mites of the families Tydeidae and Labidostommidae (Acarina: Prostigmata) collected from South African plants. Acarologia 1: 408–420.
• Silva, G.L. da, Metzelthin, M.H., Silva, O.S. da & Ferla, N.J. 2016. Catalogue of the mite family Tydeidae (Acari: Prostigmata) with the world key to the species. Zootaxa 4135(1): 1–68. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4135.1.1. Reference page.