The Holothyrida are a small order of mites in the superorder Parasitiformes. No fossils are known. With body lengths of more than they are relatively large mites, with a heavily sclerotized body. It is divided into three families, Allothyridae, Holothyridae, and Neothyridae. In a 1998 experimental study, members of the family Allothyridae were found to ignore living animals but readily fed on the body fluids of dead arthropods, making them scavengers.
The order has a distribution largely confined to former Gondwanan landmasses. They are the sister group to Ixodida (ticks).
Systematics
Allothyridae Allothyridae van der Hammen, 1972 — Australia, New Zealand
Allothyrus van der Hammen, 1961 Allothyrus australasiae (Womersley, 1935) Allothyrus constrictus (Domrow, 1955)
Australothyrus van der Hammen, 1983 Australothyrus ocellatus van der Hammen, 1983
Holothyridae Holothyridae Thorell, 1882 Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean islands, New Guinea, New Caledonia
Sternothyrus Lehtinen, 1995 Sternothyrus braueri (Thon, 1905) — Seychelles
Lindothyrus Lehtinen, 1995 Lindothyrus elongatus Lehtinen, 1995 — Lord Howe Island Lindothyrus rubellus Lehtinen, 1995 — New Caledonia
Indothyrus Lehtinen, 1995 Indothyrus greeni Lehtinen, 1995 — Sri Lanka
Haplothyrus Lehtinen, 1995 Haplothyrus expolitissimus (Berlese, 1924) — New Caledonia Haplothyrus hyatti Lehtinen, 1995 — unknown locality
Holothyrus Gervais, 1842 — Mauritius Holothyrus coccinella Gervais, 1842 Holothyrus legendrei Hammen, 1983
Hammenius Lehtinen, 1981 Hammenius armatus (Canestrini, 1897) — Tamara Island (Aitape): New Guinea Hammenius berlesei (Lehtinen, 1995) — New Guinea Hammenius braueri (Thon, 1906) Hammenius fujuge Lehtinen, 1981 — New Guinea (Central District, Oro Province) Hammenius grandjeani (Hammen, 1961) — Mount Bosavi: New Guinea Hammenius holthuisi van der Hammen, 1983 Hammenius ingii Lehtinen, 1981 — New Guinea Hammenius insularis Lehtinen, 1995 — Louisiade Archipelago: New Guinea Hammenius longipes (Thorell, 1882) — Fly River, New Guinea (?) Hammenius mendi (Lehtinen, 1995) — Strickland River: New Guinea Hammenius montanus Hammen, 1983 — Irian Jaya Hammenius niger (Thon, 1906)
Neothyridae Neothyridae Lehtinen, 1981 Northern South America and the Caribbean
Diplothyrus Lehtinen, 1999 Brazil, French Guiana Diplothyrus schubarti Lehtinen, 1999 Diplothyrus lecorrei Klompen, 2010 Diplothyrus lehtineni Vázquez & de Araújo & Feres, 2016 Neothyrus Lehtinen, 1981 Peru Neothyrus ana Lehtinen, 1981 Caribothyrus Kontschán & Mahunka, 2004 Dominican Republic Caribothyrus barbatus Kontschán & Mahunka, 2004
Footnotes
References Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog: Holothyrida Bruce Halliday: Order Holothyrida Lehtinen, Pekka T. (1995): Revision of the old world Holothyridae (Arachnida : Anactinotrichida : Holothyrina). Invertebrate Taxonomy 9(4): 767-826.