A new genus, Neotytodectes, is proposed for a new species, N . mexicanus, a hypoderid mite collected from an owl s nest in southern Mexico. A revised diagnosis is given for the Hypoderidae (= Hypodectidae), and the nomenclature and systematic position of the family are discussed. The Hypoderidae is more closely related to the Acaridae than to the Glycyphagidae as previously thought.