Mesoplophora

van der Hammen, L., 1959, Berlese's Primitive Oribatid Mites, Zoologische Verhandelingen 40, pp. 1-93 : 31

Mesoplophora Berlese, 1904

Mesoplophora Berlese, 1904b, p. 23.

Phtiracarulus Berlese, 1920a, p. 149.

Meshoplophora , Lombardini, 1936, p. 44.

Berlese characterized the genus Mesoplophora as similar to " Hoploderma ", but with genital and anal openings remote from each other. Under four names he described two species of the genus; the type is Mesoplophora michaeliana .

In 1920 Berlese described Phtiracarulus , a supposed subgenus of Phthiracarus , but a study of the type-species and single representative ( P. perexiguus ) demonstrates that this is a juvenile M. michaeliana ; further commentary is given below 2).

2) Willmann (1930, p. 245, figs. 8, 9) described a ptychoid mite from Guatemala, which he classified in Phtiracarulus ( P. rostralis ); he considered the differences with Phthiracarus sufficient to raise the subgenus to generic rank. Jacot (1938a, p. 112, pl. 9 figs. 1-5) described a closely related species ( P. laevis ) from the U.S.A. It is difficult to separate laevis and rostralis , because the differential characters mentioned by Jacot (number and length of the notogastral hairs) are not evident; it is, indeed, not impossible that in the mountains of Guatamala (the type-material of rostralis was collected at an altitude of 2500 feet) the same species occurs as in N. America.

Apparently, Willman still considered P. rostralis a representative of the family Phthiracaridae . Jacot regarded the two species ( laevis and rostralis ) as highly developed Protoplophoridae (tribe Phtiracarulini Jacot, 1938a). Up to the present, nobody observed, however, the relationship with the Mesoplophoridae ; in fact, rostralis and laevis remind of the scleritized nymphs of Mesoplophora , although they are certainly adults. Apart from females with eggs, Jacot also described remarkable, scleritized nymphs. A reinvestigation of the large material collected by Jacot will certainly enlarge our knowledge of the systematic position of the Mesoplophoridae . I remark that in Phtiracarulus (sensu Willmann and Jacot) genital and anal plates are separated by a plate that possibly must be considered a fusion of adanals and prae-anal.

Because Phtiracarulus Berlese is a synonym of Mesoplophora , a new genus must be created for Phtiracarulus sensu Willmann and Jacot. I name this genus Archoplophora nov. gen., but for the moment I refer to the diagnosis given by Jacot (1938a, p. 112, pl. 9 figs. 1-5). I designate Phtiracarulus laevis Jacot (1938a) as type of the genus Archoplophora .