Sarcoptiformes 383 



25. Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 



Type. Pterolichiis {Protolichiis) brachiatus Trouessart, 1884 



26. Protonyssiis Trouessart, 1915 



Type. Protalges larva Trouessart, 1885 



27. Pseiidogiehelia Radford, 1950 (= Giebelia Trouessart, 1915, nom. 



praeocc. ) 

 Type. Deriiialeichiis piifftni Buchholz, 1869 



28. P/^'/o/Zc^i/^ Robin, 1868 



Type. Pterolichiis obtiisiis Robin, 1868 



29. Pteronyssus Koh'm,\^6'i 



Type. Pteronyssus striatus Robin, 1877 



30. Pseudalloptes Trouessart and Megnin, 1884 

 Type. Pterolichus hisubulatus Robin, 1877 



31. Sammonica Oudemans, 1904 



Type. Syringobia ovalis Trouessart, 1898 



32. Sphaerogastra Trouessart, 1897 



Type. Sphaerogastra thylacodes Trouessart, 1897 



33. Syringobia Trouessart and Neumann, 1888 



Type. Syringobia chelopiis Trouessart and Neumann, 1888 



34. Thecarthra Trouessart, 1896 



Type. Pterolichus theca Megnin and Trouessart, 1884 



35. Xoloptes Canestrini, 1879 



Type. Pterolichus claudicans Robin, 1877 



Discussion: Oudemans 1922 has outlined the life cycle of the feather 

 mites as follows. There are two types of eggs, a hard-shelled one and 

 a thin-shelled one. The thin-shelled eggs contain larvae while still 

 within the mother and thus the female mite may be either ovoviparous 

 or viviparous. There is a six-legged larva which hatches from the egg 

 to molt into the eight-legged nymph, the protonymph. The proto- 

 nymph molts and the deutonymph emerges. The sexes in this stage 

 can be distinguished in that the female possesses a copulatory opening. 

 Both forms give rise to the eight-legged adults. When mating takes 

 place the male always copulates with the female deutonymph. Spur- 

 lock and Emlen 1942 have studied the nymphal form of a feather mite 

 which they called Hypodectes chapini and which was found in a red- 

 shafted flicker, Colaptes cajer collaris, in California. These mites were 

 "loosely encysted in the connective tissue surrounding the trachea, and 

 to a lesser extent, the esophagus. The greatest concentration was near 

 the point of entrance of the trachea into the buccal cavity, but the area 

 of infection extended from the lungs to the tongue. No movement was 

 visible with the cysts as far as could be determined, and there was no 



