Stefan F. WirthFeb 4

A striking #character of adult #mites in #Histiostomatidae (#Astigmata) is a highly #sclerotized area on the upper surface of #proterosoma. Its #latticelike #structure forms a #taxonomically relevant #symmetrical #pattern of windows, for which I introduced a #nomenclature in my PhD thesis. This area is a site of #muscleorigins (see #SEM section through a bigger specimen of #Acaridae).
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Stefan F. WirthFeb 13, 2025
Overview of the topic of #muscleattachment and origin points and #muscle #morphology in #Astigmata #mites (#Acariformes). Figs. 1-3 show a view from the #proterosoma towards the #gnathosoma of a mite of the #Acaridae. Fig. 4 shows a female of a #Histiostomatidae mite in the area of #​​legs 1 and 2 with the associated muscles and muscle attachment points. The already older preparations were critically - point dried before #SEM observations. #acarology #biology
© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2025
Stefan F. WirthNov 2, 2024

The #complex #mouthparts of #Acariformes #mites. As an example, here is the #SEM image of a non determined #mite from the #Acaridae (#Astigmata) #cut in the area of ​​the #proterosoma, #perspective towards #gnathosoma from #internally. Visible are the complex #muscles that #move the gnathosoma and partly (left) also the first pair of legs. #Photo from my early postdoc times, re-edited in 2024.
#evolution #Astigmatina

© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2024