Epibiotic mites associated with the invasive Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis - new records of Halacaridae from Poland

oleh: Monika Normant, Andrzej Zawal, Tapas Chatterjee, Dagmara Wójcik

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2013-11-01

Deskripsi

Seven epibiotic halacarid mites (<i>Caspihalacarus hyrcanus</i>, two species of <i>Copidognathus</i>, <i>Halacarellus petiti</i>, <i>Porohalacarus alpinus</i>,<i>Soldanellonyx monardi</i> and <i>S. chappuisi</i>), two oribatid mites (<i>Hydrozetes lacustris</i> and <i>Trhypochthoniellus longisetus</i>) andone water mite (<i>Piona pusilla</i>) were found on the setae-covered claws of eighteen Chinese mitten crabs (<i>Eriocheir sinensis</i>) collected from fresh andbrackish waters in Poland and Germany. The most abundant of the 111 mite individuals recorded was one of the <i>Copidognathus</i> species (<i>N</i> = 52); this was followed by <i>H. petiti</i> (<i>N</i> = 38) and <i>C. hyrcanus</i> (<i>N</i> = 13). This is the first record of <i>H. petiti</i> and of the genus <i>Copidognathus</i> from Polish waters. The possibility of migrating over long distances assisted by catadromous mitten crabs enhances mite dispersal, as well as their introduction to new environments.