Proctophyllodidae

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Amerodectes zonotrichiae.jpg

| image_caption = Amerodectes zonotrichiae female and male

| display_parents = 3

| taxon = Proctophyllodidae

| authority = Trouessart & Mégnin, 1884

| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies

| subdivision =

}}

The Proctophyllodidae are a family of the Acarina (mite) order Astigmata. They contain many feather mites. The Alloptidae and Trouessartiidae were in earlier times included here as subfamilies.

Proctophyllodidae females are extremely similar among species and sometimes even hard to assign to a genus, while males vary much more. Two subfamilies are generally recognized, the Proctophyllodinae and the Pterodectinae. The main difference is that the female pregenital apodeme and epimerites IV are separated, while in the latter they are connected and form a distinct structure.

General

Feather mites (subclass Acarina, family Proctophyllodinae) are ectoparasites that live in between the barbs of feathers and are found on nearly every bird species currently described.{{Cite journal |author1=Heather Proctor |author2=Ian Owens |name-list-style=amp |year=2000 |title=Mites and birds: diversity, parasitism and coevolution |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=358–364 |doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(00)01924-8|pmid=10931667 }} It was previously believed that these mites had a parasitic relationship with their hosts but it is now thought that most species are more commensal with their hosts.{{cite journal |author1=Guillermo Blanco |author2=José L. Tella |author3=Jaime Potti |author4=Arturo Baz |year=2001 |title=Feather mites on birds: costs of parasitism or conditional outcomes? |journal=Journal of Avian Biology |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=271–274 |doi=10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.320310.x|hdl=10261/57455 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal |author=Péter László Pap, Jácint Tökölyi & Tibor Szép |year=2005 |title=Host–symbiont relationship and abundance of feather mites in relation to age and body condition of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica): an experimental study |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=83 |issue=8 |pages=1059–1066 |doi=10.1139/z05-100}} Morphological studies have provided strong evidence for this with feather mite mouthparts being identified as unstructured for biting on solid material.{{cite book |editor=G. W. Krantz |year=1971 |title=Manual of Acarology |publisher=Oregon State University Press}} Instead it is suggested that they feed on oils and fats secreted from the uropygial gland as well as pollen, fungus and dead epidermis tissue that is trapped within it.{{cite journal |author=Heather Proctor |year=2003 |title=Feather mites (Acari: Astigmata): ecology, behavior and evolution |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |volume=48 |pages=185–209 |pmid=12208818 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.48.091801.112725}}

Morphology

Feather mites are streamlined; strongly dorsoventrally flattened with short legs and well-developed ambulacra that act as a hold-fast organ.{{cite journal |author1=Jacek Dabert |author2=Serge V. Mironov |name-list-style=amp |year=1999 |title=Origin and evolution of feather mites (Astigmata) |journal=Experimental and Applied Acarology |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=437–454 |doi=10.1023/A:1006180705101|s2cid=4634563 }} Being of the order Astigmata, they have biting mouhtparts with a very small gnathosoma compared to body size.

Transmission

Morphological constraints suggest that adult mites are nearly immobile. Transmission of mites has been shown to occur largely between direct interactions between parents and offspring and possibly during gregarious interactions between flock individuals. Observations of restricted species contamination on Falconiformes have supported this observation. Birds of prey have the greatest chance of cross contamination through interactions with their prey and yet have very stable acarofauna groups are found exclusively on those species. The European cuckoo, a brood parasite, has also been found to have their own species of mite even though the parents and offspring never interact (but see Lindholm et al., 1998{{cite journal |author=Anna K. Lindholm, Gert J. Venter & Edward A. Ueckermann |year=1998 |title=Persistence of passerine ectoparasites on the diederik cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=244 |issue=1 |pages=145–153 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00016.x}})

Selected genera

Proctophyllodinae

Allodectes Gaud & Berla, 1963 – tentatively placed here
Anisophyllodes Atyeo, 1967
Bradyphyllodes Atyeo and Gaud, 1970
Diproctophyllodes Atyeo and Gaud, 1968
Favettea Trouessart, 1915
Hemipterodectes Berla, 1959
Joubertophyllodes Atyeo & Gaud, 1971
Monojoubertia Radford, 1950
Nycteridocaulus Atyeo, 1966
Philepittalges Atyeo, 1966
Proctophyllodes Robin, 1868
Ptyctophyllodes Atyeo, 1967
Tanyphyllodes Atyeo, 1966

Pterodectinae

Afroproterothrix Mironov & Wauthy, 2010{{cite journal |last1=Sergei |first1=Mironov |last2=Georges |first2=Wauthy |title=Afroproterothrix n. gen. of the feather mite subfamily Pterodectinae (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae) from passerines (Aves: Passeriformes) in Africa |journal=International Journal of Acarology |date=2008 |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=175–182 |doi=10.1080/01647950903524158 |s2cid=84133901 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01647950903524158|url-access=subscription }}
Amerodectes Valim & Hernandes, 2010
Anisodiscus Gaud & Mouchet, 1957
Dolichodectes
Megalodectes
Montesauria Oudemans, 1905
Neodectes
Pedanodectes
Proterothrix Gaud, 1968
Pterodectes Robin, 1877 – possibly not monophyletic
Syntomodectes
Toxerodectes
Trochilodectes
Xynonodectes

Proctophyllodidae

General

Morphology

Transmission

Selected genera

References

Further reading