A new family of mites, the Homocaligidae, is erected to include the hitherto obscure genera Homocaligits Berlese and Annerossella Habeeb. New descriptions of H. scapularis (Koch), H. mitscorum Habeeb, A. lineolata (MEYER and RYIOE) and A . pacifica n. sp. enable these genera to be redefined and their relationships to other raphignathoid families to be assessed. The outstanding feature of the Homocaligidae is the presence of a pair of interna! sacs (females) or two pairs of interna! tubes (males) opening to the exterior at the lateral extremities of a dorsal propodosomal-hysterosomal groove; they may have a respiratory fonction. The fusion of paragenital and suranal plates and arrangement of the ventral plates is unique among the known families of Raphignathoidea. Homocaligidae are known only from aquatic and wet habitats.