Penthaleus is a genus of earth mites in the family of

Penthaleidae Penthaleidae, also referred to as earth mites, are a family of mites that are major winter pests of a variety of crops and pastures in southern Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, soverei ...

, first described by

Carl Ludwig Koch Carl Ludwig Koch (21 September 1778 – 23 August 1857) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was responsible for classifying a great number of spiders, including the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula and common house spider. He was bo ...

in 1835.Koch, C.L. 1835. Deutschlands Crustaceen, Myriapoden und Arachniden. Ein Beitrag zur Deutschen Fauna. Regensberg : Herrich-Schäffer Vol. 1. They are a major winter pest of a variety of crops and pastures in southern

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 ...

. There are just four species which occur in Australia: * '' Penthaleus falcatus'' Qin & Halliday, 1996 * ''

Penthaleus major ''Penthaleus major'', known generally as the winter grain mite or blue oat mite, is a species of earth mite in the family Penthaleidae. They are black or dark blue in color and are widespread across the world. They are commonly found on oats an ...

'' (Dugès, 1834) * '' Penthaleus minor'' (Canestrini, 1886) * '' Penthaleus tectus'' Halliday, 2005 *

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q18093848 Trombidiformes genera Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch Taxa described in 1835 Trombidiformes