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 | |
|---|---|
_-_Mites_-_Collection_Anthonie_Cornelis_Oudemans.jpeg)
| |
| Larva of Unionicola crassipes | |
Scientific 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- ^ a b Haldeman, Samuel Stehman (1842). On some species of Hydrachnidae. Zoological Contributions. Vol. 1. Philadelphia. pp. 1–6 [1].
- ^ a b c "Unionicola Haldeman, 1842". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Unionicola Halderman, 1842". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.