Unionicola
Genus of mites
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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| Unionicola | |
|---|---|
| |
| Larva of Unionicola crassipes | |
Scientific classification  | |
| 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 are 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]