Belongs within: Cheyletoidea.
Contains: Cheyletiini, Acaropsellini, Cheyletini, Cheyletiellidae.
The Cheyletidae are a group of predatory or vertebrate-associated mites that often bear large raptorial setae on the pedipalps. They have been divided between subfamilies Cheyletinae and Cheyletiellinae, based on the presence or absence, respectively, of comb-like setae on the palpal tarsi and teeth on the palpal claw, but it seems likely that the ‘Cheyletinae’ are paraphyletic. Instead, free-living predatory forms are probably plesiomorphic within the family with derived subgroups becoming associated with vertebrate nests and/or parasitic on the vertebrates themselves (Bochkov & Fain 2001).
Free-living cheyletids include the Cheletogenini, mostly arboreal predators in which the first pair of legs have lost the claws and pretarsus and instead bear long apical setae (Bochkov & Fain 2001).
Characters (from Baker 1949): Chelicerae short, stylet-like. Palpi large and pincer-like; tarsus short, located on posterior part of tibia rather than on tip, in most cases bearing comb-like and sickle-like setae; tibia with strong claw extending beyond tarsus. Dorsum of body with none, one, or more plates.
<==Cheyletidae [Cheyletides, Cheyletinae] |--+--CheyletiiniBF01 | |--AcaropselliniBF01 | |--Bak Yunker 1961 [Bakini]BF01 | | |--B. deleoniWL09 | | `--B. payatus Corpuz-Raros & Sotto 1977C-RSV-S88 | |--+--Caudacheles Gerson 1968BF01 | | `--Alliea [Allieini]BF01 | | `--*A. laruei Yunker 1960BF01 | |--CheletomorphiniBF01 | | |--Mexecheles De Leon 1962BF01 | | | |--M. paneusE-VVM-M07 | | | `--M. virginiensis (Baker 1949) [=Cheyletia virginiensis]H98 | | `--Cheletomorpha Oudemans 1904BF01 | | |--C. lepidopterorum (Shaw 1794)BF01 (see below for synonymy) | | `--C. orientalis Oudemans 1928B49 | `--CheletogeniniBF01 | |--Prosocheyla Volgin 1969BF01 | |--Eutogenes Baker 1949BF01 | | |--*E. foxi Baker 1949B49 | | `--E. africanusNK94 | `--Cheletogenes Oudemans 1905BF01 | |--*C. ornatus (Canestrini & Fanzago 1876) (see below for synonymy)B49 | |--C. buckneri Baker 1949B49 | |--C. oaklandia Baker 1949B49 | |--C. onoi Shiba 1976S76 | |--C. quadrisetosus Berlese 1913B49 | |--C. scaberE-VVM-M07 | |--C. traubi Baker 1949B49 [=Prosocheyla traubiH98] | `--C. waitei Gerson 1994H98 `--+--CheyletiniBF01 |--CheyletiellidaeBF01 |--Chelonotini [Chelonotinae]BF01 | |--+--Muricheyla Fain 1972BF01 | | | `--M. sicista Fain 1972BF01 | | `--Promuricheyla Fain 1979BF01 | | `--P. lukoschusi Fain 1972BF01 | `--+--Thewkachela Ide & Kethley 1977BF01 | | `--T. ratufi Ide & Kethley 1977BF01 | `--Chelonotus Berlese 1893BF01 | |--*C. selenirhynchus Berlese 1893B49 | |--C. ewingi Baker 1949B49 | `--C. oudemansi Baker 1949B49 `--CheletosomatiniBF01 | i. s.: *Eucheletopsis major Trouessart 1893BF01 |--+--Metacheletoides Fain 1972BF01 | | `--M. numidaeBF01 | `--Cheletoides Oudemans 1904BF01 | |--*C. uncinatus (Heller 1880)B49, BF01 [=Syringophilus uncinatusB49, C. uncinataB49] | `--C. chirundensis Fain 1979BF01 `--+--Cheletosoma Oudemans 1965BF01 | `--*C. tyrannus Oudemans 1905B49 `--Cheletopsis Oudemans 1904BF01 |--*C. norneri (Poppe 1888) [=Cheyletus norneri]B49 |--C. anax Oudemans 1904B49 |--C. animosa Oudemans 1904B49 |--C. basilica Oudemans 1904B49 |--C. charadriiBF01 |--C. dabertiBF01 |--C. impavida Oudemans 1904B49 |--C. magnanima Oudemans 1904B49 |--C. major Oudemans 1906 [=Cheyletus major Trouessart in Berlese 1893 (n. n.)]B49 `--C. mariaeBF01 Cheyletidae incertae sedis: Thryonomycheyla congolensis Fain 1972BF01 Eucheyla Berlese 1913B49 |--*E. loricata (Berlese 1913) [=Cheyletia (*Eucheyla) loricata]B49 |--E. panamensis Baker 1949B49 `--E. whartoni Baker 1949B49 Philippicheyla Corpuz-Raroz 1972H98 `--P. notelaeae Gerson 1994H98 Dendrocheyla bregetovae Volgin 1987E-VVM-M07 Cheletonata Womersley 1956H98 `--C. milesi Womersley 1956H98 SarcopterinusE38
*Cheletogenes ornatus (Canestrini & Fanzago 1876) [=Cheyletus ornatus, Cheletia ornatus, Cheletomimus ornatus; incl. Cheyletus cocciphilus Banks 1914, Cheyletus saccardianus Berlese 1886]B49
Cheletomorpha lepidopterorum (Shaw 1794)BF01 [=Acarus lepidopterorumB49, Chel. lepidoptorum (l. c.)H98; incl. Cheyletus longipes Megnin 1878B49, Cheyletus rufus Hardy in Andre 1933 non Karpelles 1884B49, Cheyletus seminivorus Packard 1869B49, Cheyletus venustissimus Koch 1839B49, *Cheletomorpha venustissimaB49]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B49] Baker, E. W. 1949. A review of the mites of the family Cheyletidae in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 99 (3238): 267–320.
[BF01] Bochkov, A. V., & A. Fain. 2001. Phylogeny and system of the Cheyletidae (Acari: Prostigmata) with special reference to their host-parasite associations. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique Entomologie 71: 5–36.
[C-RSV-S88] Corpuz-Raros, L. A., G. C. Sabio & M. Velasco-Soriano. 1988. Mites associated with stored products, poultry houses and house dust in the Philippines. Philippine Entomologist 7 (3): 311–321.
[E38] Ewing, H. E. 1938. North American mites of the subfamily Myobiinae, new subfamily (Arachnida). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 40 (7): 180–197.
[H98] Halliday, R. B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.
[NK94] Norton, R. A., & J. B. Kethley. 1994. Ecdysial cleavage lines of acariform mites (Arachnida, Acari). Zoologica Scripta 23 (3): 175–191.
[S76] Shiba, M. 1976. Taxonomic investigation on free-living Prostigmata from the Malay Peninsula. Nature and Life in Southeast Asia 7: 83–229.
[WL09] Walter, D. E., E. E. Lindquist, I. M. Smith, D. R. Cook & G. W. Krantz. 2009. Order Trombidiformes. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3rd ed. pp. 233–420. Texas Tech University Press.