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Phylogenetic relationships among species of the parasitic mite subgenus Listrophoroides Hirst (Atopomelidae), fur-mites of Asian and African murine rodents, are reconstructed on the basis of parsimony analysis of morphological characters. This group is polyphyletic with respect to the outgroup, subgenera Marquesania Womersley and Paklistrophoroides Fain & Hyland. The mite phylogeny partially reflects the host phylogeny and several groups of closely related species associated with particular rodent groups are recognised. The rajah-group, with 34 species associated with rats of the genus Maxomys Sody, is most diverse. Most Maxomys species are parasitised by a single mite species but some of them harbour a complex of several species. Maxomys surifer (Miller), the most widespread species of the genus, hosts unique species combinations comprising 23 species in different parts of its range. This synhospitality is hypothesised to have originated during Pleistocene isolation of different host populations in multiple rain forest refugia. The current species complexes also reflect later host range expansions. These data are consistent with a hypothesis of Pliocene vicariance in some Sunda Shelf rodents and not with the traditional view of widespread migration across the Late Pleistocene Sunda Shelf. The rajah species-group is revised, 16 species are described as new and three are synonymised.

Taxonomic revision and parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis of species in two closely related genera of predaceous Cheyletidae, Chelacheles Baker and Neochelacheles Smiley & Williams, are conducted. Among species of these genera, C. algericus Fain & Bochkov, syn. nov. and C. humilis Rasool, Chaudhri & Akbar, syn. nov. are synonymised with C. strabismus Baker and C. bakeri Attiah, respectively. Six new species are described: C.aigamuxa, sp. nov.; C. klimovi, sp. nov.; C. seminole, sp. nov.; C. temoak, sp. nov.; N. corpuzrarosae, sp. nov.; and N. mendicus, sp. nov. The genus Chelacheles includes two species-groups, strabismus (seven species) and peritremaculatus (seven species), and two ungrouped species, C. michalskii Samsinak and C. stigmaeoides Barilo. The genus Neochelacheles (three species) is represented by a single species from North America and by two Philippine endemics. New diagnoses of the genera are given as well as descriptions of postembryonic stages of a model species in each genus, a key, and redescriptions for most species. The biology of these mites is briefly discussed. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the associations of some species with polypore bracket fungi have arisen independently in the genera Chelacheles and Neochelacheles.

A new species of the genus Neocheyletiella Baker, 1949 (Acariformes: Cheyletidae) is described from the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata (Viellot, 1817) (Passeriformes: Estrildidae), from a laboratory colony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. The setal additions in the ontogeny of the new species, Neocheyletiella parvisetosa Mertins & Bochkov, and the main differential characters of all 17 known species of the genus Neocheyletiella are provided in tabular format. Keys to females and males of Neocheyletiella spp. also are given.

The small genus TrichorhynchiellaFain, 1995, including two species of permanent bird ectoparasites belonging to the family Harpirhynchidae (Acariformes: Cheyletoidea), is revised. The generic diagnosis is emended. The type species, Trichorhynchiella paddae Fain, 1995 from Lonchura oryzivora (L., 1758) (Passeriformes: Estrildidae) from Southeast Asia and Trichorhynchiella phleocryptes sp. n. from Phleocryptes melanops (Viellot, 1817) (Passeriformes: Furnariidae) from Argentina are redescribed and described, respectively. The phenomenon of ovoviviparity inherent to females of this genus is briefly discussed. In almost immobile physogastric females of Trichorhynchiella, ovoviviparity eliminates necessity to attach eggs to the host body.

Three new harpirhynchid species of the subfamily Harpirhynchinae (Acariformes: Harpirhynchidae) are described from North American birds: Harpyrhynchoides aegolius sp. n. from Aegolius acadicus (Strigiformes: Strigidae), Harpyrhynchoides accipiter sp. n. from Accipiter striatus (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae), and Neharpyrhynchus icterus sp. n. from Icterus galbula (Passeriformes: Icteridae). Three species are recorded from new hosts from North America for the first time: Harpyrhynchoides tracheatus (Fritsch, 1954) from Buteo lineatus (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae), Harpyrhynchoides pectinifer (Lawrence, 1959) from Colaptes auratus (Piciformes: Picidae), and Harpyrhynchoides rubeculinus (Černý & Sixl, 1971) from Catharus ustulatus (Passeriformes: Turdidae). Neharpyrhynchoides novoplumaris (Moss et al., 1968) previously recorded from Cardinalis cardinalis (Passeriformes: Cardinalidae) from the United States is recollected from this host.

Five new quill mite species of the genus Torotrogla (Acari: Syringophilidae) are described from North American passerines: T. aphelocoma sp.n. from Aphelocoma californica (Corvidae) and T. cardinalis sp.n. from Cardinalis cardinalis (Cardinalidae) in Texas; and T. coccothraustes sp.n. from Coccothraustes vespertinus (Fringillidae), T. cyanocitta sp.n. from Cyanocitta stelleri (Corvidae), and T. piranga sp.n. from Piranga ludoviciana (Thraupidae) in California. A key to females of all known Torotrogla spp. and a table with their host associations and distributions are given.

Two new species Dromiciocoptes marmosops sp. n. and Dromiciocoptes caenolestes sp. n., of the subfamily Dromiciocoptinae (Acari: Myocoptidae), are described from Marmosops parvidens Tate (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) from Peru and Caenolestes fuliginosus (Tomes) (Pauctituberculata: Caenolestidae) from Ecuador, respectively. Dromiciocoptes has been included in a monobasic subfamily in the Myocoptidae on the basis of female and nymph legs III and IV of being modified for clasping the hair of the host. Observations on the actual structure of these appendages, however, indicate that the mode of hair clasping is fundamentally different than in other myocoptids. The structure of the male legs IV of Dromiciocoptinae and Myocoptinae are also different. Additional diagnostic characters of the subfamily Dromiciocoptinae in both sexes are the enlarged propodonotal and hysteronotal shields; indistinct openings of the opisthonotal glands; reduced pretarsi II; retrorse spurs on coxal fields I—IV; absence of setae vi, c3, famulus e, and one pair of genital papillae; presence of setae sIII; and a pair of antiaxial projections on femora I and II. Synapomorphies uniting these two subfamilies include body shape, separate apodemes I, apical position of tarsus I solenidia ?1 and ?3, scales on the ventral surface of the female opisthosoma (in only some myocoptines), and bilobed male opisthosoma. None of these states are unique among the parasitic Psoroptidia, indicating that the monophyly of the family is weakly supported.

Two species of Chirorhynchobiidae, Chirorhynchobia glossophaga sp. n. and Chirorhynchobia matsoni are described and redescribed, respectively. The male of C. glossophaga and the tritonymph of C. matsoni are the first to be described in the family. The mites are ectoparasites living on the wing membrane of phyllostomid bats Glossophaga soricina (Pallas) from Peru and Anoura geoffroyi Gray from several localities. Females of the new species differ from those of C. matsoni by the shorter idiosoma (length 439–450 versus 497–562 in C. matsoni), by the dorsal position of setae 4a (terminal in C. matsoni), and by the narrower posterior projections of the propodonotal shield (width 6 versus 17). Although the morphology of Chirorhynchobiidae is strongly regressive, homologies of the leg and idiosomal setae in these mites with those of other Astigmata are established. The combination of absence of famulus ɛ and solenidia sI-II and presence of solenidia ?1I-II and ?3I in these mites is shared with the Rhyncoptidae–Sarcoptidae clade, suggesting a possible relationship with those groups.

The mesostigmatid genus Andreacarus (Acari: Laelapidae), species of which are obligatory parasites of small mammals, is revised. Andreacarus includes 11 species, four species previously recognized and seven new species described from Madagascar hosts: A. brachyuromys sp. n. from Brachyuromys betsileoensis Bartlett, A. eliurus sp. n. from Eliurus species, A. gymnuromys sp. n. from Gymnuromys roberti Major, A. voalavo sp. n. from Voalavo gymnocaudus Carleton & Goodman, A. nesomys sp. n. from Nesomys rufus Peters—all from nesomyid rodents; A. tenrec sp. n. from Tenrec ecaudatus Schreber (Afrosoricida: Tenrecidae); and A. galidia from Galidia elegans I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (Carnivora: Viverridae). An amended generic diagnosis and key to females are also given. Six species described in Andreacarus from Australian and New Guinean hosts are removed and transferred to the new genus, Juxtalaelaps.

Two genera of parasitic cheyletid mites, Smileycheles (monotypic) and Thryonomycheyla (two species), are synonymized with the genus Sciurocheyla . An emended diagnosis of the genus Sciurocheyla is provided. Sciurocheyla squamosa (Domrow & Baker, 1963), type species of the genus, and Sciurocheyla camerounensis (Fain, 1979), new combination, are redescribed. Females, males, teleo- and protonymphs of Sciurocheyla funisciurus, new species, collected from Funisciurus pyrrohopus F. Cuvier in tropical Africa are described and illustrated.