A collaborative research team led by Professor Satoshi Shimano of the Center for Natural Sciences, Faculty of International Cultural Studies, Hosei University has rediscovered a new species of mite, "Daidaikatsumuridani," which has not been discovered since it was discovered in France about 30 years ago. ..
In 2017, the research team discovered a parasite snail mite from snails native to the main island of Okinawa.As a result of ordering specimens from France and examining them in detail, including their morphology, it was found that this mite was a "Daidai snail mite" that had never been recorded since it was discovered in a French snail in 1986.This is the first rediscovery in 30 years since the first discovery, and it is the first report of species-level identification of snail mites in Japan.
Why was a tick that could only be found in France so far found in Okinawa, Japan?Professor Shimano said, "It is unlikely that we came to Okinawa for human reasons such as the traffic of humans and animals due to the development of transportation infrastructure. Since the host snail has not been studied in detail, why is it only in two places far away? I don't know if the habitat has not been confirmed. "
The Daidai snail mite is about 0.5 mm in size and moves quickly on the body surface and lungs of the snail, but its effect on the infested snail is still unknown. "In Japan, research on snail parasites has been delayed, so I would like to clarify its diversity in the future," the research team said.
Paper information: "Okinawa Biology Society Journal No. 3" published on March 31
