Unionicola is a genus of freshwater arachnids, specifically water mites, belonging to the family Unionicolidae.[2][3] The genus was described in 1842 by Samuel Stehman Haldeman.[1][2] The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.[2]

Unionicola
Larva of Unionicola crassipes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Trombidiformes
Family: Unionicolidae
Genus: Unionicola
Haldeman, 1842[1]

Most Unionicola are associated with molluscs, but Unionicola crassipes and Unionicola minor is associated with sponges of family Spongillidae.[4] The association with mussels can be described as symbiotic. There is evidence that mites consume host tissue[5] and can be associated with reduced host fitness, although the causal direction of the latter remains unclear.[6]

Species include the following:

  • Unionicola gracilipalpis
  • Unionicola figuralis
  • Unionicola crassipes
  • Unionicola aculeata
  • Unionicola ypsilophora (Bonz, 1783)[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Haldeman, Samuel Stehman (1842). On some species of Hydrachnidae. Zoological Contributions. Vol. 1. Philadelphia. pp. 1–6 [1].
  2. ^ a b c "Unionicola Haldeman, 1842". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Unionicola Halderman, 1842". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ Davids, C.; Crowell, R. M.; de Groot, C. J. (1985). "The developmental cycles of two co-occurring sponge mites Unionicola crassipes (Müller) and Unionicola minor (Soar) (Acari, Hydrachnellae)". Hydrobiologia. 122 (3): 199–205. doi:10.1007/BF00018279. S2CID 2879331.
  5. ^ Fisher, Ginger R.; Dimock, Ronald V.; Kuhn, Raymond E. (2000). "The symbiotic water mite Unionicola formosa (Acari: Unionicolidae) ingests mucus and tissue of its molluscan host". Journal of Parasitology. 86 (6): 1254–1258. doi:10.1645/0022-3395(2000)086[1254:TSWMUF]2.0.CO;2. PMID 11191901.
  6. ^ Gangloff, Michael M.; Lenertz, Kristin K.; Feminella, Jack W. (2008). "Parasitic mite and trematode abundance are associated with reduced reproductive output and physiological condition of freshwater mussels". Hydrobiologia. 610 (1): 25–31. doi:10.1007/s10750-008-9419-8. S2CID 12915328.