A new family of mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Raphignathina), highly specialized subelytral parasites of dytiscid water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Dytiscinae)

A new genus, Dytiscacarus gen nov. Hajiqanbar and Lindquist, based on three new species and representing a new family of trombidiform mites, is described from Iran and the USA. These mites are highly specialized parasites of beetles in the family Dytiscidae, undergoing their entire life cycle while inhabiting the space beneath the elytra of their hosts. The new taxon is autapomorphic in three aspects, characteristic of all active instars: a pair...