Experimental and Applied Acarology (2012) 57, 257-269

A.P.G. Dowling, R. Ochoa, J.J. Beard, W.C. Welbourn and E.A. Ueckermann (2012)
Phylogenetic investigation of the genus Raoiella (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae): diversity, distribution, and world invasions
Experimental and Applied Acarology 57 (3-4), 257-269
Abstract: The genus Raoiella is best known because of the red palm mite, R. indica, a major pest of palms spreading aggressively throughout the Americas. Not much was known about the biology, geographic origins, or evolutionary history of the genus when R. indica emerged as a major invasive pest. This paper attempts to address some of the basic historical questions regarding the palm mite as well as the genus. Molecular characters from COI and 28S regions were used to produce a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus in an effort to understand its geographic origin. It also uses COI barcode data to delimit several potentially new species discovered by the authors in Australia. Results show a basal split between R. indica and all other Raoiella species, which indicates Africa or the Middle East as the most probable origin of the genus. Additionally, COI data suggests that at least eight new species are represented among the 20 Australian populations included in this study.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Ronald Ochoa

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Raoiella indica