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Title: Revision of the genus Raoiella (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) of the world.

Author
item BEARD, J. - University Of Maryland
item BAUCHAN, G. - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item DOWLING, A. P. - University Of Arkansas
item UECKERMANN, E. - University Of Pretoria

Submitted to: International Congress of Acarology
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2013
Publication Date: 7/13/2014
Citation: Beard, J.J., Bauchan, G.R., Ochoa, R., Dowling, A.G., Ueckermann, E.A. 2014. Revision of the genus Raoiella (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) of the world.. International Congress of Acarology. 22.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Flat mites in the genus Raoiella have attracted recent world-wide interest due to the rapid spread of a major pest of various palm trees and other monocot species, the red palm mite, R. indica. This focus on the species R. indica has created a need to better understand the genus. Despite the economic significance of the genus, Raoiella remains poorly understood, mainly due to a lack of collecting and poor taxonomy, descriptions and systematics. With most geographic regions across the world remaining significantly under-collected, little can be concluded about many tenuipalpid taxa, and the genus Raoiella is an excellent example of this. Eleven species had been described prior to our recent research. Seven species have been described from India and Pakistan, and one species each from South Africa, Sudan, Greece and Australia. In addition, two additional related taxa have also described from The Philippines and India. However, due to a complete disregard for the critical detail necessary to reliably separate species, many of these previously described species and related genera have been synonymised, and only five previously described species are recognized as valid, only two of which originate from India. In addition, recent collecting effort in Australia has uncovered a wealth of new species, indicating that the majority of species in the genus feed on dicot hosts, and that the genus originates from this region.