Neottialges Fain, 1966

Mironov, Sergey V. & Ramilo, David W. R., 2019, A new mite species of the genus Neottialges (Acariformes: Hypoderatidae) from the black stork Ciconia nigra (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae) in Portugal, Acarologia 59 (2), pp. 279-287 : 281

Genus Neottialges Fain, 1966

Type species: Neottialges (Neottialges) geopeliae Fain, 1966 , by original designation.

The genus Neottialges was established by Fain (1966) and originally included six species;

at present, including the new species described below, it incorporates 35 species and is the most

speciose within the family (Fain 1966, 1967, 1969; Fain and Amerson 1968; Pence 1971, 1973;

Pence and Courtney 1973; Fain and Kigaye 1976; Fain and Domrow 1978; Fain and Lawrence

1979, 1986; Young and Pence 1979; OConnor 1985; Fain and Lukoschus 1986; Pence and

Duncan 1995; Pence and Newman 1997; Pence et al. 1997; Mironov and Kivganov 2010;

De Liberato et al. 2017). Fain (1966, 1967) recognized originally three subgenera within this

genus: Caloenectes Fain, 1966 , Neottialges s. str., and Pelecanectes Fain, 1966. Later, Fain

and Lukoschus (1986) established two more subgenera, Ardeidectes Fain and Lukoschus, 1986

and Heronidectes Fain and Lukoschus, 1986 . Adult mites are known only in a few species

from each subgenus, except Caloenectes , whose adults are not yet known. The latest key

to deutonymphs of most known species was given by Fain and Lawrence (1986); for major

references for previously described Neottialges species see Mironov and Kivganov (2010).

Representatives of the genus Neottialges are presently known from birds of the orders

Accipitriformes, Ciconiiformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Falconiformes , Musophagi-

formes, and Pelecaniformes (Fain 1967; Fain and Lawrence 1986; Fain and Lukoschus 1986;

Mironov and Kivganov 2010). Of previously known species of this genus, three species

of the subgenus Caloenectes have been described from storks ( Ciconiiformes : Ciconiidae ):

Neottialges (Caloenectes) distinctus Fain and Lawrence, 1986 from the Maguari stork, Ciconia

maguari (Gmelin, JF), N. (C.) ellipticus (Nitzsch in: Giebel (1861)) n. comb. from the white

stork C. ciconia Linnaeus , and N. (C.) mycteriae Pence, 1973 from the wood stork, Mycteria

americana Linnaeus , and painted stork, M. leucocephala (Pennant) ( Giebel 1861; Fain 1967,

1973; Pence 1973; Fain and Lawrence 1986). Neottialges ellipticus was originally described

in the genus Hypoderas Nitzsch, 1861 (now Hypodectes ). Since the illustration of this species

was rather schematic, Fain (1967) in his revision of hypoderatids parasitizing birds treated this

mite as a species inquirenda; however the size and general shape of idiosoma, proportion of

legs and their segments allow this mite to be referred to the genus Neottialges .