The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peacock mite's name suggests that their feather-like (or leaf-like) setae adorning their backs are evocative of a

peacock's plumage Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...

. They also have long hair-like setae projecting from rear (

caudal Caudal may refer to: Anatomy * Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism * Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into the ...

setae) that have been compared to a trailing peacock tail. The 5–7 pairs of caudal setae can be flicked over the body very quickly, so they are used like whips in defense against predators. They may also help in wind-borne dispersal. They are classified in the superfamily

Tetranychoidea Tetranychoidea is a superfamily of mites in the order Trombidiformes. There are about 5 families and more than 2,200 described species in Tetranychoidea. Families These five families belong to the superfamily Tetranychoidea: * Allochaetophorid ...

, being its most ornate members.

Species

* ''

Tuckerella anommata The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Smith-Meyer & Ueckermann, 1997 (South Africa) * ''

Tuckerella channabasavannai The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Mallik & Kumar, 1992 (host: '' Saraca indica''; Andhra Pradesh) * ''

Tuckerella eloisae The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Servin & Otero, 1989 (host: '' Fouquieria diguetii''; Mexico) * ''

Tuckerella filipina The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Corpuz-Raros, 2001 (host: ''

Hydnocarpus ''Hydnocarpus'' is a genus of medium to large trees in the Family Achariaceae; the genus was previously placed in the now defunct family Flacourtiaceae. Species have been recorded from Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Charact ...

'' sp.: Philippines) * ''

Tuckerella hainanensis The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Lin & Fu, 1997 (host: ''

Coffea arabica ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabic coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is currently the dominant cultivar, r ...

''; Hainan) * ''

Tuckerella jianfengensis The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Lin & Fu, 1997 (host: ''

Annona muricata Soursop (also called ''graviola, guyabano'', and in Hispanic America, ''guanábana'') is the fruit of ''Annona muricata'', a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is wid ...

''; Jianfengling, Hainan) * ''

Tuckerella kumaonensis The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Gupta, 1979 (India) * '' Tuckerella litoralis'' Collyer, 1969 * '' Tuckerella nilotica'' Zaher & Rasmy, 1970 (Egypt) * ''

Tuckerella ornatus The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The pe ...

'' (Tucker, 1926) – type species * ''

Tuckerella xiamenensis The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peaco ...

'' Lin, 1982 (host: '' Manilkara zapota'') * ''

Tuckerella xinglongensis The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peacoc ...

'' Lin-Yanmou & Fu-Yuegua, 1997 (hosts: ''

Polyscias fruticosa ''Polyscias fruticosa'', or Ming aralia, is a perennial plant, dicot evergreen shrub or dwarf tree native to India. The plant grows fairly slowly but can reach up to 1 to 2 meters in height. The leaves are of a dark green pigment, glossy in t ...

'' var. ''plumata'' and ''

Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (not to ...

''; Hainan) * †''

Tuckerella fossilibus The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The pe ...

'' Khaustov, Sergeyenko & Perkovsky 2014 (

Rovno amber Rivne amber, occasionally called Ukrainian amber, is amber found in the Rivne Oblast and surrounding regions of Ukraine and Belarus. The amber is dated between Late Eocene and Early Miocene, and suggested to be contemporaneous to Baltic amber. ...

) * †''

Tuckerella weiterschani The peacock mites of the genus ''Tuckerella'' ( the only genus of the mite family Tuckerellidae) are a significant herbivorous pest in the tropics, for example on citrus fruit. Other species dwell in grasses, possibly as root feeders. The peacoc ...

'' Sidorchuk & Khaustov, 2018 ( Baltic amber)

References

External links

* Trombidiformes Agricultural pest mites Arachnids of Africa {{Agriculture-stub