Proctophyllodidae

General

Feather mites (subclass Acarina, family Proctophyllodinae) are ectoparasites that live in between the barbs of feathers and are found on nearly every bird species currently described. It was previously believed that these mites had a parasitic relationship with their hosts but it is now thought that most species are more commensal with their hosts. Morphological studies have provided strong evidence for this with feather mite mouthparts being identified as unstructured for biting on solid material. Instead it is suggested that they feed on oils and fats secreted from the uropygial gland as well as pollen, fungus and dead epidermis tissue that is trapped within it.

Morphology

Feather mites are streamlined; strongly dorsoventrally flattened with short legs and well-developed ambulacra that act as a hold-fast organ. Being of the order Astigmata, they have biting mouhtparts with a very small gnathosoma compared to body size.

Transmission

Morphological constraints suggest that adult mites are nearly immobile. Transmission of mites has been shown to occur largely between direct interactions between parents and offspring and possibly during gregarious interactions between flock individuals. Observations of restricted species contamination on Falconiformes have supported this observation. Birds of prey have the greatest chance of cross contamination through interactions with their prey and yet have very stable acarofauna groups are found exclusively on those species. The European cuckoo, a brood parasite, has also been found to have their own species of mite even though the parents and offspring never interact (but see Lindholm et al., 1998)

Selected genera

Proctophyllodinae

• Allodectes Gaud & Berla, 1963 – tentatively placed here
• Anisophyllodes Atyeo, 1967
• Bradyphyllodes Atyeo and Gaud, 1970
• Diproctophyllodes Atyeo and Gaud, 1968
• Favettea Trouessart, 1915
• Hemipterodectes Berla, 1959
• Joubertophyllodes Atyeo & Gaud, 1971
• Monojoubertia Radford, 1950
• Nycteridocaulus Atyeo, 1966
• Philepittalges Atyeo, 1966
• Proctophyllodes Robin, 1868
• Ptyctophyllodes Atyeo, 1967
• Tanyphyllodes Atyeo, 1966 Pterodectinae
• Afroproterothrix Mironov & Wauthy, 2010
• Amerodectes Valim & Hernandes, 2010
• Anisodiscus Gaud & Mouchet, 1957
• Dolichodectes
• Megalodectes
• Montesauria Oudemans, 1905
• Neodectes
• Pedanodectes
• Proterothrix Gaud, 1968
• Pterodectes Robin, 1877 – possibly not monophyletic
• Syntomodectes
• Toxerodectes
• Trochilodectes
• Xynonodectes

References

References

1. (2000). "Mites and birds: diversity, parasitism and coevolution". [[Trends in Ecology & Evolution]].
2. (2001). "Feather mites on birds: costs of parasitism or conditional outcomes?". [[Journal of Avian Biology]].
3. Péter László Pap, Jácint Tökölyi & Tibor Szép. (2005). "Host–symbiont relationship and abundance of feather mites in relation to age and body condition of the barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica''): an experimental study". [[Canadian Journal of Zoology]].
4. (1971). "Manual of Acarology". [[Oregon State University Press]].
5. Heather Proctor. (2003). "Feather mites (Acari: Astigmata): ecology, behavior and evolution". [[Annual Review of Entomology]].
6. (1999). "Origin and evolution of feather mites (Astigmata)". [[Experimental and Applied Acarology]].
7. Anna K. Lindholm, Gert J. Venter & Edward A. Ueckermann. (1998). "Persistence of passerine ectoparasites on the diederik cuckoo ''Chrysococcyx caprius''". [[Journal of Zoology]].
8. (2008). "Afroproterothrix n. gen. of the feather mite subfamily Pterodectinae (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae) from passerines (Aves: Passeriformes) in Africa". International Journal of Acarology.