Adaptive Radiation of Four-Legged Mites of the Family Phytoptidae (Acariformes, Eriophyoidea) on Dicotyledons: Host–Parasite Relationships and Ability to Induce Gallogenesis

Abstract: Four-legged mites of the family Phytoptidae (Acariformes, Eriophyoidea) are represented on eudicot plants by 31 species of two subfamilies: Phytoptinae (1 genus, 19 species) and Sierraphytoptinae (7 genera, 12 species). Most phytoptid species that are capable of inducing various growth abnormalities in plants (galls, erinea, bud growth, and other injuries) belong to the subfamily Phytoptinae. Analysis of the quantitative traits has shown that no groups of phytoptid species associated with eudicots can be outlined based on the currently available morphometric characters. The correlation between the prodorsal shield ornamentation, the presence of the tibial solenidion, and the geographic distribution of phytoptid mites is analyzed, and groups of phytoptine species with similar prodorsum topography are discussed. Analysis of host associations of phytoptids from eudicots has revealed no cophylogenetic patterns; many hosts of phytoptids are narrow-range endemics and relicts. It is supposed that phytoptids originated in the tropics or in the Southern Hemisphere. The current classification of phytoptids into subfamilies is probably artificial; it does not reflect the phylogeny of this group and needs a revision based on molecular phylogenetic data.