Crotoniidae are a family of mites of the Holosomata group that may be the first animal lineage to have abandoned

sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote tha ...

and then re-evolved it. This is a spectacular case of

atavism In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological structure whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways; one of which is whe ...

, and later

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

.Norton, R. (2007), ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', April 24, cited in ''Science News'', vol. 171, p. 302

Species

* '' Crotonia'' Thorell, 1876 ** '' Crotonia alluaudi'' (Berlese, 1916) — Africa ** '' Crotonia americana'' (Berlese, 1901) — South America ** '' Crotonia ardala'' Luxton, 1987 —

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

** ''

Crotonia blaszaki ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' Szywilewska, Olszanowski & Norton, 2005 —

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

** '' Crotonia borbora'' Luxton, 1987 — Australia ** '' Crotonia brassicae'' Wallwork, 1977 —

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

** '' Crotonia brevicornuta'' (Wallwork, 1966) —

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

** ''

Crotonia camelus ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' (Berlese, 1910) —

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

** ''

Crotonia capistrata ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' Luxton, 1987 — Australia ** ''

Crotonia caudalis ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' (Hammer, 1966) —

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

** ''

Crotonia cervicorna ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' Luxton, 1982 — New Zealand ** ''

Crotonia chiloensis ''Crotonia'' or Crotonia may refer to: * '' Crotonia'', a genus of mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped t ...

'' Wallwork, 1977 — Chile ** '' Crotonia cophinaria'' (Michael, 1908) — Argentina, New Zealand ** '' Crotonia cupulata'' Luxton, 1982 — New Zealand ** '' Crotonia dicella'' Colloff, 1990 — Natal, South Africa ** '' Crotonia ecphyla'' Colloff, 1990 — Natal ** '' Crotonia flagellata'' (Balogh & Csiszar, 1963) — South America ** '' Crotonia jethurmerae'' Lee, 1985 —

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

** '' Crotonia lanceolata'' Wallwork, 1977 — St. Helena ** '' Crotonia longibulbula'' Luxton, 1982 — New Zealand ** '' Crotonia lyrata'' Colloff, 1990 — Natal ** '' Crotonia marlenae'' Olszanowski, 1997 —

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...

, Parati area;

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

** '' Crotonia nukuhivae'' (Jacot, 1934) — Pacific islands ** '' Crotonia obtecta'' (Cambridge, 1875) — Chile, New Zealand ** '' Crotonia ovata'' Olszanowski, 2000 —

Hellyer River The Hellyer River is a perennial river located in north western Tasmania, Australia. The river flows for before joining into the Arthur River. High quality cool temperate rainforest and tall eucalyptus forest grows along much of the river. Si ...

gorge:

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

** '' Crotonia pauropelor'' Colloff, 1990 — Natal ** '' Crotonia perforata'' Wallwork, 1977 — St. Helena ** '' Crotonia pulchra'' (Beck, 1962) — Neotropics ** '' Crotonia reticulata'' Luxton, 1982 — New Zealand ** '' Crotonia rothschildi'' (Berlese, 1916) —

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

** '' Crotonia tryjanowskii'' Olszanowski, 2000 — New England N.P.:

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

** '' Crotonia tuberculata'' Luxton, 1982 — New Zealand ** '' Crotonia unguifera'' (Michael, 1908) New Zealand * '' Holonothrus'' Wallwork, 1963 ** '' Holonothrus artus'' Olszanowski, 1999 — Aisen, Queulat National Park, Puerto Cisnes area:

;

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

** '' Holonothrus concavus'' Wallwork, 1966 — Antarctica ** '' Holonothrus foliatus'' Wallwork, 1963 — Antarctica ** '' Holonothrus gracilis'' Olszanowski, 1997 — South Island, Nelson Lakes National Park: New Zealand ** '' Holonothrus mitis'' Olszanowski, 1991 — Tasmania, Australia ** '' Holonothrus naskreckii'' Olszanowski, 1997 — South Island, Nelson Lakes National Park; New Zealand ** '' Holonothrus nortoni'' Olszanowski, 1999 — Dominica, Trois Pitons: Leeward Islands ** '' Holonothrus novaecaledoniae'' Olszanowski, 1997 — Mount Paine:

** '' Holonothrus papua'' Balogh & Balogh, 1986 —

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

** '' Holonothrus pulcher'' Hammer, 1966 — New Zealand ** '' Holonothrus robustus'' Olszanowski, 1991 — Tasmania, Australia ** '' Holonothrus venetiolanus'' Olszanowski, 1999 — Mérida, Laguna Negra:

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

; neotropical ** '' Holonothrus virungensis'' Norton & Olszanowski, 1989 — Congo:

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

Footnotes

References

*Subías, Luis S. (2007): Listado sistemático, sinonímico y biogeográfico de los ácaros oribátidos (Acariformes: Oribatida) del mundo (Excepto fósiles)
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* Acari families Acariformes {{acari-stub