''Phauloppia banksi'' is a species 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 together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

in the family

Oribatulidae Oribatulidae is a family of mites and ticks in the order Sarcoptiformes. There are about 19 genera and at least 200 described species in Oribatulidae. Genera * '' Capilloppia'' Balogh & Mahunka, 1966 * '' Crassoribatula'' Hammer, 1967 * '' Dipha ...

. Found in the United States, it was described as new to science in 1987. A study conducted in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

that showed that the mite is one of several that takes shelter in the

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

of the common North American lichen '' Punctelia rudecta''.

References

Animals described in 1987 Arachnids of North America Acari {{Acari-stub