Mesostigmatic mites of the Laelapinae Berlese, 1892 (Acari: Laelapidae) are nidicolous arthropods that commonly occur in the fur of Neotropical small mammmals. In this 2-yr study, the laelapine acarofauna associated with the small mammal community in an area of Atlantic forest on Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro State, was examined, including observations on patterns of host specificity, mite dispersal, ecology, and food habits. A total of 1,347 laelapines was sampled from the pelage of 6 species of small mammals (Marmosops incanus, Nectomys squamipes, Oryzomys russatus, Rhipidomys n. sp., Oxymycterus dasytrichus, and Trinomys dimidiatus), all of which occurred exclusively in monoxenous associations with their hosts. No evidence of a blood meal was observed in the gut of the mites. With the exception of the 2 species of Tur, mite populations on hosts were entirely or nearly restricted to adult females. These results, together with some morphological characteristics of laelapines, reinforce the hypotheses that Neotropical laelapine mites are not ectoparasitic, and that females disperse by phoresy.
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February 2002
Research Article|
February 01 2002
ECOLOGY AND HOST SPECIFICITY OF LAELAPINE MITES (ACARI: LAELAPIDAE) OF SMALL MAMMALS IN AN ATLANTIC FOREST AREA OF BRAZIL
Fernanda Martins-Hatano
;
Fernanda Martins-Hatano
Departamento de Ecologia, IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, no. 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 20550-011, Brasil.martinsfernanda@hotmail.com
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Donald Gettinger
;
Donald Gettinger
Departamento de Ecologia, IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, no. 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 20550-011, Brasil.martinsfernanda@hotmail.com
* Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas 72035. donaldg@alltel.net
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Helena G. Bergallo
Helena G. Bergallo
Departamento de Ecologia, IBRAG, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, no. 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 20550-011, Brasil.martinsfernanda@hotmail.com
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J Parasitol (2002) 88 (1): 36–40.
Citation
Fernanda Martins-Hatano, Donald Gettinger, Helena G. Bergallo; ECOLOGY AND HOST SPECIFICITY OF LAELAPINE MITES (ACARI: LAELAPIDAE) OF SMALL MAMMALS IN AN ATLANTIC FOREST AREA OF BRAZIL. J Parasitol 1 February 2002; 88 (1): 36–40. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0036:EAHSOL]2.0.CO;2
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