Ontogeny of morphological traits in Teleioliodes ghanensis Wallwork, 1963, with remarks on juveniles of Neoliodidae (Acari: Oribatida)
The juvenile instars of oribatid mites of the family Neoliodidae are poorly known, and little information is available on the morphology of ontogenetic stages. Herein, comparative characteristics of juvenile instars of the Neoliodidae species are given based on our own data and available literature sources. The analysis of literature dealing with juveniles of Neoliodidae generated ambiguous results, as certain descriptions are incomplete partly and unclear. The major characteristics of juvenile instars of 10 neoliodid species are presented, and the morphological ontogeny of Teleioliodes ghanensis Wallwork, 1963 is investigated based on material from Oumé region of Côte d‘Ivoire, Western Africa. From these studies, it can be generalized that the juvenile morphologies of neoliodid genera have certain differences, but species within a same genus are demonstrated to have no obvious morphological difference.