Afrotydeus

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Tydeoidea

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Unikonta Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa 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: Neoafrotydeus
Species (5): N. flabelliferus – N. kenyensis – N. novaezealandiae – N. smileyi – N. zairensis

Name

• Original status: genus
• 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 has the same chaetotaxy as that of Tydeus (see Tydeus munsteri for further information).
• The genus is synonymized with Tydeus by André (2025: 162)
• A second species, meyerae, was moved to the genus Perafrotydeus by André (1980: 142).
• The other species assigned to the genus Afrotydeus remain together in a new genus with a similar name, Neoafrotydeus, and with Afrotydeus kenyensis as the type species (André, 2025: 162).

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. 
• André, H.M. 2025. Sixty years after "A review of the genera of the family Tydeidae" (Acariformes: Tydeoidea: Tydeidae). Acarologia 65(1): 149-172. https://doi.org/10.24349/l5vb-767l 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.