The concept of genus within the family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Parasitiformes): historical review and phylogenetic analyses of the genus Neoseiulus Hughes

Systematic studies on the family Phytoseiidae were first conducted at the beginning of the 20th century but increased greatly after the Second World War. Various classifications have been proposed based on different characters such as: dorsal, ventral, and leg chaetotaxy; the shape of ventrianal and sternal shields; the shape of the insemination apparatus (spermatheca) and spermatodactylus; the number of teeth on the movable digit of chelicera; and dorsal and ventral adenotaxy. The genus concepts developed over the last five decades can be divided into two main categories or hypotheses. The first, supported mainly by Chant and McMurtry, focuses on dorsal and ventral chaetotaxy, and the gene…