Infraorder:  Anystina

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      The Infraorder: Anystina used to be a large group families of mites counting well over 4,000 species. However, after the re-arrangements of the Trombidiform Mites mentioned on previous pages, a mere 200 - 250 species remain.  The number of superfamilies has dropped from 22 to 4 and of these, two are represented in Australia.   In general the Anystina are very small to small, usually free-roaming, mites that are either predatory, parasitic or a combination of the two depending on the stage of their life-cycle they are in.  They can be found in soil, leaf litter and on vegetation.   

      Anystina mites have relatively large oval or egg-shaped bodies and shortish but strong legs that are often covered in setae.  Some species only have large, thick setae on inside of the first pair of legs giving the legs the appearance of multi-pronged grapplehooks and hence betraying their purpose to assist clamping on to their prey.  Many are brightly coloured with various shades of red and orange being common. 
Of the four superfamilies the Anystoidea have the most cosmopolitan distribution being found worldwide in temperate to tropical areas with a decent amount of rainfall or humidity.

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      In the Northern Rivers, it is fairly positive that the Genus: Anystis  (Family: Anystidae) can be found but no specimen has been identified to species as yet. The most likely candidate however, does remain A. baccarum.  It is also not impossible that a species or two of the Family: Erythracaridae may occur locally as small numbers of mites belonging to that family have been found in every state (N.T. and A.C.T. excepted), suggesting a nationwide distribution.  A similar but less likely expectation could be suggested for species in the Superfamily: Caeculoidea.

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Family:  Anystidae
Subfamily:  Anystinae

      Anystis baccarum     (possible occurrence)

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Taxonomy:
​​​​​​​​​​
Phylum:   Arthropoda   (Arthropods)
          > Subphylum:   Chelicerata   (Chelicerates)
                    > Class:   Arachnida   (Arachnids)  
​​                              > Subclass:   Acari   (Mites and Ticks)
                                        > Superorder:   Acariformes
                                                  > Order:   Trombidiformes
                                                            > Suborder:   Prostigmata   (Prostigs)
                                                                      > Infraorder:   Anystina
                                                                                          > Superfamily:   Anystoidea
                                                                                                    > Family:   Anystidae
                                                                                                              > Subfamily:   Anystinae
                                                                                                                        > Genus:   Anystis   (Whirligig Mites)
                                                                                                                                  > Species:   A. baccarum  ^

*  =  likely
^  =  possibly

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References  and  links:
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      https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/635811-Anystina
​      https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/635935-Caeculoidea
​      https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/625770-Erythracaridae
​      https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/4GB
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Photographic Contributions:

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