''Cosmoglyphus'' is a genus of mites in the family
Acaridae
The Acaridae are a family of mites in order Sarcoptiformes.
Distribution
There are several acarid genera with cosmopolitan distributions, such as ''Acarus', Sancassania'' and ''Tyrophagus''. There are even ''Tyrophagus'' found in Antarctic ...
.
Description
Adults of this genus can be recognised by: supracoxal
setae
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
lanceolate and with lateral barbs; tarsi of the fourth leg pair short; males with proximal sucker on the proximal half of tarsus.
Deutonymphs (also known as hypopi) have the proximal ends of the
sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...
and epimerae II usually at the same transverse level near the posterior edge of the sternal shield. The genu of the fourth (sometimes third) leg pair is enlarged. The tibiae of the third and fourth leg pairs are approximately equal. The anal disk is small and the distance from it to the mite's posterior end is over 1.5 times its length. The ventrum is whole.
Ecology
''Cosmoglyphus'' are found in various habitats including dung, decaying plants and nests of
ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...
and
termites
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
.
There is a case of ''Cosmoglyphus'' sp. living in a woman's ear (otoacariasis), where it was presumably feeding on
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
.
Species
* ''
Cosmoglyphus agilis''
(Michael, 1903)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus angustus''
Fain & Friend, 1984
* ''
Cosmoglyphus distantsis''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus elzingai''
Mahunka, 1979
* ''
Cosmoglyphus falki''
(Sher & Ashfaq, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus haripuriensis''
(Ashfaq, Sher & Chaudhri, 1990)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus hosoyai''
(Kugoh, 1957)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus hyper''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus infaustus''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus kramerii''
(Berlese, 1881)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus limbata''
(Mahunka, 1974)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus longisetus''
Mahunka, 1979
* ''
Cosmoglyphus memphiticus''
(Sevastianov & Rady, 1991)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus mirabilis''
Fain, 1979
* ''
Cosmoglyphus moshtohorensis''
(Sevastianov & Rady, 1991)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus oudemansi''
Zakhvatkin, 1937
* ''
Cosmoglyphus pytho''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus ruditas''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus sicafer''
Mahunka, 1978
* ''
Cosmoglyphus stremma''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus tariqii''
(Ashfaq, Sher & Chaudhri, 1990)
* ''
Cosmoglyphus thosmos''
(Ashfaq & Chaudhri, 1986)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5174322
Acaridae