Prelude to a study of the feather mites of Australia (Acariformes: Astigmata).

This paper reviews the state of knowledge of the feather mites of Australia (Arachnida: Acariformes: Astigmata). The known fauna includes 149 species arranged in 95 genera and 24 families, in the Superfamilies Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea. A checklist of the fauna is provided, including bibliographic details for every species and genus. The bird host and collecting localities are listed for every species, and taxonomic and nomenclatural problems are discussed where necessary. The total fauna may include as many as 800 undescribed species. The checklist is preceded by a brief review of some aspects of the biology of feather mites, which have not been studied in the context of the Australian fauna.The correct spelling for a family of respiratory tract parasites is confirmed as Kytoditidae. Dabertia indistincta (Dabert & Atyeo, 1993) comb. n. (Syringobiidae) and Hemialges australis (Trouessart, 1885) comb. n. (Analgidae) are new combinations proposed herein.

Catalogue of families and their type genera in the mite suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata).

This paper reviews 47 names that have been used at the levels of Family, Subfamily and Tribe, for mites in the suborder Uropodina. Complete bibliographic references are provided for all of these names and the names of their type genera. The spelling and authorship of taxon names is corrected where necessary. Fifteen of these family-group names are unavailable, because they do not satisfy the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. However, some of these names represent taxonomic concepts that may be useful in future revisions of the group.

Catalogue of genera and their type species in the mite Suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata).

This paper provides details of 300 genus-group names in the suborder Uropodina, including the superfamilies Microgynioidea, Thinozerconoidea, Uropodoidea, and Diarthrophalloidea. For each name, the information provided includes a reference to the original description of the genus, the type species and its method of designation, and details of nomenclatural and taxonomic anomalies where necessary. Twenty of these names are excluded from use because they are nomina nuda, junior homonyms, or objective junior synonyms. The remaining 280 available names appear to include a very high level of subjective synonymy, which will need to be resolved in a future comprehensive revision of the Uropodina.

An Australian record of the American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis, and the risk of its establishment outside North America.

A living female of Dermacentor variabilis (Say) was collected in Canberra, Australia, on a human who had recently returned from the U.S.A. Climatic data indicate that this could become established in eastern Australia and many other parts of the world, with serious consequences for human and animal health.

Faecal chymotrypsin concentrations in neonates with cystic fibrosis and healthy controls.

Specimens of meconium and random stools were collected sequentially from 25 healthy newborn babies over the first 8-14 days of life. The stool chymotrypsin concentrations increased from birth to a maximum at 4 days of age and then fell again over the next four days. The lowest individual stool concentrations either side of the four day peak were both, coincidentally, 120 micrograms/g stool. In a second group of 22 newborn babies suspected of meconium ileus and later confirmed to have cystic fibrosis, faecal chymotrypsin concentrations were all appreciably reduced. In eight babies, also with suspected meconium ileus but with negative sweat tests, chymotrypsin concentrations were within the healthy newborn range. Measuring faecal chymotrypsin concentrations is a reliable procedure for identifying pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in the newborn.

Esterase variation at three loci in meat ants.

The meat ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus) occurs in a number of color forms, with uncertain taxonomic status. Gel electrophresis of meat ant extracts, followed by nonspecific esterase staining, reveals several zones of activity. Allelic variation at three loci is proposed to account for variation in some of these zones. Two of the loci (Es-1, Es-2) appear to have recessive null alleles, whose frequencies have been estimated by the method of maximum likelihood. Geographic variation in allele frequency is attributed to behavioral and geographic subdivision of the population. Apparent disturbances in segregation ratios and deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be accounted for if it is argued that some nests contain more than one queen. Differences in gene frequency between sympatric populations of the red and blue forms of I. purpureus are observed, confirming their reproductive is isolation and sibling species status.