60 



Acarology 



Ixodorhynchidae Ewing, 1923 



Figure 45 



Diagnosis: Ixodorhynchids are readily recognized by their harpoon- 

 shaped anterior lateral extensions of the pedipalpal coxae in the 

 females, protonymphs, and deutonymphs. These stages also have a 

 peculiar chelicera that lacks a fixed digit and has large, recurved teeth 

 on the movable digit. Larvae and tritonymphs have not been ob- 

 served and in fact may not exist. The males lack both of the features 

 so characteristic of the other stages. They can be recognized, however, 

 because even though the harpoon blade is lacking on the anterior, lat- 

 eral processes of the pedipalps 

 the basal portion of these 

 processes are similar to those 

 of the other stages. Chelicerae 

 of males are chelate and modi- 

 fied for transferring sperma- 

 tophores. 



Figure 45 Ixodorhynchus 

 hiitantanensis (Fonseca), 1934. 

 Ventral view of female 

 and gnathosoma. (After 

 Fonseca 1934) 



Genus: 



Ixodorhynchus Ewing, 1923 (= Ixobioides Fonseca, 1934) 

 Type. Ixodorhynchus liponyssoides Ewing, 1923 



Discussion: These peculiar mites have been found only as parasites 

 of snakes. The type species was collected from the eye of a snake at 

 Madrid, Iowa. The only other species, /. butantanensis (Fonseca), 

 1934 was collected from a snake Optis merremi Wagler, 1824, from 

 Brazil. These mites are of no known economic or medical importance, 



References: 



Ewing, H. E. 1923. The dermanyssid mites of North America. Proc. U. S. 



Nat. Mus. 62 Art. 13:1-26. 

 Fonseca, F. da. 1934. Der Schlangenparasit Ixobioides novi generis n. sp. 



(Acarina, Ixodorhynchidae nov. fam.) Zeit. Parasitenk. 6:508-527. 



