Anthocoptini, Amrine & Stasny, 1994

Knihinicki, Danuta K., Petanović, Radmila, Cvrković, Tatjana & Varia, Sonal, 2018, A new species of Aculus mite (Acari: Eriophyidae), a potential biocontrol agent for Australian swamp stonecrop, Crassula helmsii (Crassulaceae), Zootaxa 4497 (4), pp. 573-585 : 575

Tribe Anthocoptini Amrine & Stasny, 1994

Aculus Keifer, 1959 , Occ. Paps. 1:5

Type species: Aculus ligustri (Keifer, 1938) :190–191, 159 (Fig. XVI)

Revised diagnosis. BODY gENERALLY SPINDLE fORM, SOMEWHAT DORSOVENTRALLY fLATTENED AS A RULE . GNATHOSOMA RELATIVELY SMALL, PROjECTINg DIAgONALLY DOWNWARDS: CHELICERAE SHORT, NEARLY STRAIgHT; ORAL STYLET SHORT, RECURVINg WELL bELOW CHELICERAE bASE. PRODORSAL SHIELD SUbTRIANgULAR, WITH A bROAD AND ROUNDED APICALLY, SOMETIMES SHALLOW, ANTERIOR LObE EXTENDINg OVER bASE Of gNATHOSOMA ALMOST COVERINg SETAE ep; PROTOgYNES Of SOME SPECIES WITH ONE OR TWO PAIRS Of fORWARD-DIRECTED SMALL SPINES fROM ANTERIOR POINT Of LObE, OR fROM UNDERSIDE. SCAPULAR TUbERCLES ON REAR SHIELD MARgIN WELL-SPACED, PROjECTINg bACKWARDS AND OUTWARDS. COXAE WITH THREE PAIRS Of SETIfEROUS TUbERCLES. LEgS WITH USUAL SERIES Of SETAE. OPISTHOSOMA Of PROTOgYNES USUALLY WITH DORSAL ANNULI bROADER AND STRONgLY DIffERENTIATED fROM VENTRAL ANNULI; OfTEN A SLIgHT SUbDORSAL fURROW EXTENDINg A SHORT DISTANCE CAUDAD fROM REAR SHIELD MARgIN. IN SOME SPECIES, DIffERENTIATION Of DORSAL AND VENTRAL OPISTHOSOMAL ANNULI IS LESS EXPRESSED. ALL OPISTHOSOMAL SETAE (c2, d, e AND f) PRESENT. A SHORT MID-DORSAL RIDgE MAY bE PRESENT AT POSTERIOR END Of OPISTHOSOMA IN SOME SPECIES. FEMALE gENITAL COVERfLAP USUALLY WITH fURROWS; INTERNAL TRANSVERSAL APODEMA Of NORMAL LENgTH, bROAD. DEUTOgYNES LACKINg ANTERIOR LObE SPINES, WITH DORSAL AND VENTRAL ANNULI LESS DIffERENTIATED AND MICROTUbERCLES MORE OR LESS SUPPRESSED.

Distribution and hosts. AT LEAST 260 Aculus SPECIES HAVE bEEN DESCRIbED fROM AROUND THE WORLD bASED ON AMRINE et al. (2003) AND A REVIEW Of THE MOST RECENT LITERATURE.

Remarks. THE DIAgNOSIS Of THIS gENUS IS fOUNDED ON THE ORIgINAL DESCRIPTION bY KEIfER (1959) AND ObSERVATIONS Of AUTHORS fOR THE PAPER PUbLISHED HERE. THIS REVISED DIAgNOSIS IS ALSO ESTAbLISHED ON THE NEW SPECIES DESCRIPTION bELOW.