Mites of the subfamily Parasitinae (Mesostigma^:. Parasitidae) in the British Isles Keith H. Hyatt ^ Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD 6 ft f 4i n Contents Synopsis Introduction Material Methods External morphology Family Parasitidae Oudemans, 1901 . Summary of classification .... Key to genera of British Parasitinae . Synonymy Key to deutonymphs Key to males Key to females Genus Parasitus Latrei lie Genus Vulgarogamasus Tichomirov . Genus Eugamasus Berlese . Genus Porrhostaspis Miiller . Genus Cornigamasus Evans and Till . Genus Parasitellus Willmann Genus Gamasodes Oudemans Genus Poecilochirus G. & R. Canestrini Genus Trachygamasus Berlese Taxonomic summary Species new to the British Isles Acknowledgements References Index . 237 237 238 240 240 246 246 247 248 248 251 253 256 290 310 320 324 327 340 349 363 368 368 368 369 377 Synopsis The mites of the subfamily Parasitinae in the British Isles and the Channel Islands are revised. Thirty-six species belonging to nine genera are recorded of which one is new to science and fourteen are new to the British fauna. Habitat and distributional data are given and keys to the genera and species for deutonymphs, males and females are provided. The taxonomy includes eleven new specific synonyms and five new combinations. Introduction The Parasitidae are among the most common and widely distributed mites of the suborder Gamasina to be found in litter and humus, and certain species are especially abundant in accumulations of organic material such as rotting seaweed, compost, dung and in the subterranean nests of small mammals. Others are associated with bumblebees and burying-beetles during part of their life-cycle (the nympha coleoptrata stage), the 'host' being used as a Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist (Zool.) 38 (5): 237-378 Issued 30 October 1980 237
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