| Triasacarus Temporal range: Late Triassic
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Trombidiformes |
| Genus: | †Triasacarus |
| Species: | †T. fedelei
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| Binomial name | |
| †Triasacarus fedelei Schmidt et al., 2012
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Triasacarus fedelei is an extinct species of gall mite described from the Carnian of northeastern Italy. It lived as a parasite of Cheirolepidiaceae trees. The only known specimen, preserved in amber, is 0.210 mm long.1 Along with Ampezzoa triassica and an unnamed dipteran, it is the oldest arthropod found enclosed in amber.2
It is possible that Triasacarus induced the formation of galls on the host plant.1
References
References
- Schmidt, A. R.; Jancke, S.; Lindquist, E. E.; Ragazzi, E.; Roghi, G.; Nascimbene, P. C.; Schmidt, K.; Wappler, T.; Grimaldi, D. A. (2012). "Arthropods in amber from the Triassic Period". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (37): 14796–15501. doi:10.1073/pnas.1208464109. PMC 3443139. PMID 22927387.
- "Oldest Occurrence of Arthropods Preserved in Amber: Fly, Mite Specimens Are 100 Million Years Older Than Previous Amber Inclusions". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 22 May 2013.