https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2479-9924
Abstract
The first occurrence of a parasitic mite, Leptus Latreille (Trombidiformes, Erythraeidae) parasitizing an adult male of a trapdoor spider Actinopus Perty, 1833 (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae) and the first occurrence of Leptus sp. larvae in the municipality of Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil are reported.
Public Interest Statement
Mites are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups. Many mites are parasitic on plants and animals. Most host-parasitic association is poorly described and understood. Investigations of the host-parasitic association can elucidate the biology and animal behavior, the link between parasites and pathogens, and define the role of the mite in transmission and pathogenesis. This article reports the first occurrence of larva of the genus Leptus parasitizing an adult male of a trapdoor spider Actinopus.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interest.
The cosmopolitan genus Leptus Latreille, 1796 (Prostigmata: Parasitengona: Erythraeidae) has a total of 10 species described for Brazil, 27 species for the Neotropical region, and more than 270 described species worldwide (Haitlinger, Citation2004; Mąkol & Wohltmann, Citation2012). Leptus mites have seven larval stages of which nymphs are ectoparasitic using a wide range of arthropods to feed and transport (Penney & Green, Citation2011).
After hatching from eggs, the mite larvae pierce the cuticle of the invertebrate host and gain access to the host’s hemolymph and interstitial fluids via a straw-like stylostome. After engorging, larvae drop off the host and transform into eight-legged nymphs and then adults (Penney & Green, Citation2011). Both adults and deutonymphs are free-living predators of small invertebrates. Most common hosts are insects (Flechtmann, Citation1980; Kamran, Afzal, Bashir, & Raza, Citation2009; Teixeira, Citation2011; Wilson, Rubink, & Collins, Citation1990; Wilson, Wooley, Nunamaker, & Rubink, Citation1987) and arachnids such as opiliones, scorpions, and spiders (Fain, Gummer, & Whitaker, Citation1987; Mohamed & Mohamed, Citation2011; Townsend, Mulholland, Bradford, Proud, & Parent, Citation2006; Welbourn & Young, Citation1988).
This work reports the first occurrence of larva of the genus Leptus parasitizing an adult male of a trapdoor spider Actinopus (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae) and the first occurrence of Leptus sp. larvae in the municipality of Manaus, Amazonas state. Specimens were collected near the “Universidade Federal do Amazonas,” Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, and are deposited into the “Coleção de Invertebrados” located at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Photos were taken using a stereomicroscope Leica MZ16, equipped with Leica camera M205c.
Actinopus Perty, 1833, also commonly known as trapdoor spiders, are distributed throughout Central and South America (Brescovit, Bonaldo, Bertani, & Rheims, Citation2002; Ríos, Citation2014) and can be easily identified by the thoracic groove procurved and rastellum on distinct process (Brescovit et al., Citation2002; Raven, Citation1985). The biology and ecology of the species are still little known, females and young males have cryptic habits, living most of the time in excavated burrows, closed by a trap door made of soil particles and silk, making difficult to detect these spiders in their natural habitat (Brescovit et al., Citation2002; Coyle, Goloboff, & Samson, Citation1990; Miglio, Citation2009). Few works reported associations between mites and mygalomorph spiders (Ebermann & Goloboff, Citation2002; Masan, Simpson, Perotti, & Braig, Citation2012; Welbourn & Young, Citation1988). The spider was identified as belonging to Actinopus cucutaensis Mello-Leitão, 1941 by the copulatory bulb with elongated and well-developed paraembolic apophysis.
The six-legged Leptus larva (body length 0.55 mm, width 0.18 mm) (Figure (A), (C–D)) was located near posterior margin on dorsal portion of the spider’s carapace (body length 22.6 mm; carapace long 11.7 mm, wide 11.1 mm) (Figure (B)). The specimen was firmly attached to the carapace by its chelicerae, and when it was removed, no injury caused by its mouthparts was visibly detected. The larva is an undescribed species of Leptus.
Figure 1. (A) Mite larva of Leptus sp., habitus, dorsal view; (B) spider of Actinopus sp., carapace, dorsal view (white arrow indicates where mite was attached); (C) details of larva’s gnathosoma and dorsal scutum; (D) dorsal idiosomal setae.
Currently, 79 arachnid species among mites (9 spp.), spiders (17 spp.), scorpions (11 spp.), harvestmen (39 spp.), pseudoscorpions (2 spp.), and tailless whip scorpions (1 sp.) were reported as host of Leptus spp. (Table ).
Table 1. Updated records of Leptus spp. parasitising arachnids
Little is known about the impact of Leptus larva feeding on their host upon the survival, locomotion, or reproductive capacity of their spider hosts, but it is known that Leptus larvae are able to transmit Spiroplasma bacteria which can be mutualistic or pathogentic (DiBlasi et al., Citation2011). Although specific associations between deutonymphs of Astigmata and Heterostigmata mites, and larvae of Prostigmata mites, and spiders are well documented, little is known about the spider mite associations in Brazil and the implications for the host.
This paper revealed an unrecorded association between trapdoor Actinopus spider and a Leptus mite for Brazil, which indicated that similar interactions (parasitic and non-parasitic) are likely to be far more diverse. Additional field and laboratory studies of the life history and ecology of parasite and host species are required.
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr José Albertino Rafael for lab support on realization of photos and measurements of the spider at Diptera laboratory, National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA).
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Notes on contributors
Lidianne Salvatierra
Lidianne Salvatierra is a Brazilian invertebrate zoologist. Marlus Q. Almeida is a Brazilian invertebrate ecologist. The research in the Laboratory of Ecology and Systematic of Soil Invertabrates at The National Institute of Amazonian Research focuses on the systematics and evolutionary biology of Arachnida, with emphasis on the Amazonian fauna.
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