As important representatives of Oribatida (Acari), ptyctimous mites comprise more than 1400 described species in 40 genera and subgenera, with nearly cosmopolitan distribution except for the Arctic and Antarctic Regions. They are capable of folding the aspidosoma under the opisthosoma to protect their appendages, and are primarily soil and litter inhabitants, feeding on fungi and decaying plant remains with various levels of specificity. Our purpose was to provide a detailed catalogue of all known ptyctimous mite species in the world with information of distribution, taxonomic issues and some remarks. Data of known juvenile instars of ptyctimous mites which were not included in Norton & Ermilov (2014) were added. We hope that our catalogue with bibliography will be helpful in taxonomic and ecological studies. The catalogue presents taxonomic information and geographic distribution of 1431 known species of the world belonging to 42 genera and eight families (not including data of genus and species inquirenda, nomina nuda and species without author name). Among them, 261 species are listed as synonyms, 43 species inquirenda, nine homonyms, 17 new synonyms, one new subgenus Mahuntritia subgenus nov. and three new names are included in the catalogue.

In the material recently collected in Madeira, 16 species of ptyctimous mites have been found. A new species of Austrophthiracarus rabacalensis Niedbała sp. nov. has been described. The presence of P. globosus and S. (R.) ortizi, reported earlier from Madeira has not been confirmed, but P. anonymus and P. montanus, so far not reported from this island, have been found. All 16 species identified in the material from Madeira studied occur in the Palaearctic Region; four of them are endemites, seven occur in western Palaearctic, four are panpalaearctic, while one is a semicosmopolitan. Morphological analysis has revealed a high similarity of two endemic species of Madeira with two European species: Ste-ganacarus (Steganacarus) crassisetosus is similar to Steganacarus (Steganacarus) applicatus, while Steganacarus (Ste-ganacarus) similis to Steganacarus (Steganacarus) spinosus. DNA-barcode analysis using COI and D2 28S rDNA sequences confirmed the species status of these four species. The phylogenetic analyses of COI amino acid data and D2 28S rDNA sequences suggest a closer relationship between S. (S.) crassisetosus and S. (S.) applicatus, pointing to a great genetic distance between S. (S.) spinosus and the other species of Steganacarus (Steganacarus).

The primitive ptyctimous mites are one of the most important groups of oribatid mites (Acari), with almost cosmopolitan distribution, except for the Arctic and the Antarctic regions. These mites occur especially in places where there is decaying organic matter. In this study, a detailed catalogue of all known ptyctimous mite species in the world is presented. The catalogue provides information about the zoogeographical distribution of each species, discusses important nomenclatural issues and addresses some remarks. Besides this, it also contains useful data on known juvenile instars of 47 species. The catalogue also presents a classification of the higher taxa of eight families, four subfamilies, 42 genera, 15 subgenera, the taxonomic characteristics and the information about the zoogeographical distribution of 1458 valid known species from all over the world. Among them, 231 species and one genus are enumerated as synonyms, nine homonyms, one rejected name, one genus inquirenda, 41 species inquirendae, four subspecies inquirendae, one genus incertae sedis, 39 species incertae sedis, 12 species nomina nuda, two species mistakenly identified, one species without the author’s name, and one non-ptyctimous mite species are included in the catalogue. Furthermore, the DNA sequence data of 53 ptyctimous species (belonging to eight families, 15 genera) can be found in the GenBank. Finally, the attached appendix contains important corrections referring to the published monographs published by the first author, and a list of new species described after the publication of these monographs. SEM photos of some typical ptyctimous mites showing their diversity are attached.

The wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Aves: Passeriformes), is a well-known model organism for studying bird migration, breeding habitat selection and nest predation. The nest acarofauna of this bird species has not been extensively studied so far. To provide a comprehensive report on mite species inhabiting wood warbler nests and to assess infestation parameters (prevalence, intensity, and abundance) for mite species and orders, we collected 45 nests of this bird species in the Wielkopolska National Park in western Poland. Analyses revealed a huge diversity (198 species) of mites inhabiting wood warbler nests. We found individuals belonging to the Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes and Sarcoptiformes. The Trombidiformes, represented in our study only by the Prostigmata, achieved statistically significantly lower intensity and abundance, compared to representatives of other orders. However, the number of recorded prostigmatid species was high (65). The most common were: Stigmaeus sphagneti (22 nests), Stigmaeus longipilis (16), Eupodes voxencollinus (15), Cunaxa setirostris (14), Stigmaeus pilatus (11), and Linopodes sp. 2 (10). The prevalence of Mesostigmata and Sarcoptiformes was equal, reaching 91.1%. Most of Gamasina (Mesostigmata) species found in this study were more characteristic of the soil environment and forest litter than bird nests, but there was also a typical bird parasite, viz. Ornithonyssus sylviarum. None of the observed species of Uropodina (Mesostigmata) or Oribatida (Sarcoptiformes) was typical for bird nests. Among the Uropodina, the highest parameters of nest infestation were achieved by Oodinychus ovalis, whereas among the Oribatida, they were achieved by Metabelba pulverosa. We discuss the importance of wood warbler nests for mite dispersal, survival and reproduction.

In 25 additional localities from Oriental Region 32 of the hitherto known species of ptyctimous mites (Acari, Oribatida) were collected. The new localities permit a more precise determination of the geographical distribution ranges of eleven species, usually extending their ranges, and prompted change in the zoogeographical element of some species. Additional morphological descriptions for three species, Oribotritia corporaali (Oudemans, 1926), Acrotritia divida (Mahunka, 1991), Notophthiracarus lienhardi Mahunka, 1996 are given.