Acari largely missing - consider miteresearch.org or Plazi

[mdoering]

It seems COL is missing large parts of Acari. There are many families and superfamilies without any content, probably a relict from older times?

GBIF is in touch with http://www.miteresearch.org/ which might be a source to fill some gaps?

My aim is to give a overview to the group starting with Linnaeus 1758 and continues till now. Recently the tables contain more than 58.000 species-names, 7.000 genus-names, and 30.000 papers, chapters and books.

This data-base is a compilation of all named mites and ticks, but doesn't claim to be complete. I focus mainly to systematic and nomeclature. Ecological, faunistical, veterinary, medical, phylogenetic, anatomical, and all the other topics take into consideration too. Almost every day the list is treated.Sometimes the fields aren't complete but this goal is aspired.

[DaveNicolson]

Acari is not a holophyletic group and is not used in modern classifications, but in any case, the gaps are known and actively being worked on through collaboration via the TG. Multiple mite GSDs have been added to COL in the last year, and several more are coming in the next ITIS load.

[DaveNicolson]

Superorders Acariformes and Parasitiformes are the bulk of the "mites", for the record

[mdoering]

Thats great. Maybe these are all small groups, but there are large numbers of empty superfamilies as you can see above (all the ones without any orange source name next to them have NO genera or species)

[DaveNicolson]

Yes, we intentionally added a global classification to family (published 2011-2013) that didn't include genera or species, which are to follow. GSDs are being sought and constructed. I'm noting this to Dr. Zhang, who is part of the effort and a mite worker. Since non-global and non-complete sources are no longer used in COL that does constrain sources somewhat.

[mdoering]

We should add all the non global parts in ITIS to the upcoming extended checklist.

[mdoering]

There are many Zootaxa family catalogues existing in Plazi that could be used by COL:

• Rhodacaridae 2012
• Ascidae, Blattisociidae and Melicharidae 2016
• Pachylaelapidae 2014
• Ologamasidae 2016
• probably more...

[DaveNicolson]

Rhodacaridae gap filled in ITIS 3/2022 Pachylaelapidae gap filled in ITIS 3/2022 Most of the othes you mentioned are actively being worked on at ITIS now....

[DaveNicolson]

Correction, Rhodacaridae was not a gap in COL, you've got a 2009 GSD for it (2022 update from ITIS suggested to the taxonomy working group if they can't get a new version from the source of the 2009 one).