Phorytocarpais americanus (Berlese)

Halliday, R. B., 2005, Predatory mites from crops and pastures in South Africa: potential natural enemies of redlegged earth mite Halotydeus destructor (Acari: Penthaleidae), Zootaxa 1079, pp. 11-64 : 50

Phorytocarpais americanus (Berlese)

Gamasus (Gamasus) americanus Berlese, 1906: 138 .

Parasitus americanus: Womersley, 1942: 144 ; Micherdzinski, 1969: 523; Ridsdill­Smith & Hall, 1984: 5; Karg, 1993a: 470.

Phorytocarpais americanus: Athias­Henriot, 1980: 27 .

Specimens examined: Site 94­3, 1 female, 7 DN, 1 PN; Site 94­5, 2 males, 1 DN; Site 94­ 11, 4 females, 6 males, 9 DN, 3 PN; Site 94­13, 1 female, 3 males, 4 DN, 7 PN; Site 94­14, 1 female, 4 males, 1 DN; Site 94­16, 1 female, 3 males, 10 DN; Site 94­31, 1 DN; Site 94­ 32, 1 female, 1 DN; Site 99­5, 13 DN; Site 2000­20, 2 DN; Site 2000­23, 1 DN.

Phorytocarpais americanus was described from Paraguay ( Berlese, 1906), and is widespread and abundant in Australia ( Womersley, 1942; Ridsdill­Smith & Hall, 1984). It has also been reported from Israel, France, Mongolia, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Morocco and Spain ( Micherdzinski, 1969; Athias­Henriot, 1980). It occurs in soil, leaf litter, fungi, under bark, and in dung. Its deutonymphs are phoretic on dung and carrion beetles. The identification of this species is based on characters of the adult female and male as detailed by Athias­Henriot (1980). Deutonymphs and protonymphs are identified on the basis of their association with the adults.