Birds have a symbiotic relationship with many ectoparasite groups such as chewing lice (Mallophaga: Amblycera, Ischnocera), fleas (Siphonaptera), keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), mites (Acari: Sarcoptiformes, Trombidiformes) and ticks (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae). In fact, this relationship is mainly based on parasitism, but feather mites are mostly classified as commensal ectosymbionts, compared to other parasitic insects and arachnids. This study reports tick and feather mite species detected on a dead specimen of the Great Tit (Parus major L.) that was brought to the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey. As a result of the parasitological examination, the tick samples were identified as Ixodes frontalis (Panzer) and feather mites were identified as Analges mucronatus (Buchholz) and Proctophyllodes stylifer (Buchholz). With this study, A. mucronatus and P. stylifer have been reported for the first time from Turkey, and the feather mite fauna of Turkey has reached 42 identified species.
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This study provides new records of water mites from Erzincan, Gümüşhane and Tunceli provinces (Turkey). Thirteen species have been registered as new for the hydrachnid water mite fauna of the study area. Parathyas colligera (K. Viets, 1923) is a new record for the fauna of Turkey. So far, no water mite records have been given from the provinces of Tunceli and Gümüşhane. Including the new data, the total number of taxa recorded from Erzincan province tallies 81 species in 17 families.
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Prunus laurocerasus L. (Rosaceae) is a summer fruit and evergreen species belonging to the family Rosaceae. It is also known as cherry laurel, common laurel, and sometimes English laurel. This plant grows naturally in the North- Eastern region of Turkey. The aim of the study was to investigate the mite species on P. laurocerasus trees in eleven municipalities (Altınordu, Akkuş, Çaybaşı, Fatsa, Gülyalı, İkizce, Kabadüz, Kumru, Perşembe, Ulubey and Ünye) of the Ordu province (Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey) in 2015 and 2016. Leaf samples were taken weekly from late April until early October in each year. At each sampling date, leaves were taken from different parts of the tree canopy, i.e. lower, middle and upper. The number of sampled trees was determined according to the total number of the trees in each orchard. Approximately 20 leaves per P. laurocerasus tree were taken. A total of eighteen mite species belonging to three orders, six families and twelve genera were identified including Phytoseiidae (7), Tydeidae (5), Tetranychidae (2), Stigmaeidae (2), Iolinidae (1) and Winterschmidtiidae (1) during the study. According to the results, P. laurocerasus trees have an especially rich fauna of beneficial mites probably due to lack of pesticide usage.
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The chromosomal parameters and karyotypic relationships may provide very valuable information about speciation and karyotype evolution. In the order Oribatida, the chromosomal data are limited to a few reports. In the present study, the chromosomal data of two species are provided for the first time. The diploid chromosome numbers are 2n = 14 in Oribotritia hermanni Grandjean, 1967 (Oribatida: Oribotritiidae) and 2n = 22 in Hermanniella gibber Kulijev, 1979 (Oribatida: Hermanniellidae) and chromosomes are small holocentric chromosomes. The smallest and largest chromosome sizes are 0.38 μm and 1.08 μm in O. hermanni, respectively. The total haploid chromosome length is 4.88 μm, in O. hermanni, and a higher value of 6.98 μm is recorded in H. gibber. The sex chromosomes could not be identified, because the oribatid mites show weak sexual dimorphism. In this respect, the results of the study provide important contributions to the cytotaxonomy of oribatid mites.
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The saliva of ticks contains numerous bioactive molecules with anti-hemostatic and immunomodulatory properties. Due to their abilities of self-renewal and pluripotency, stem cells hold considerable promise in the regenerative medicine and biomedical fields. The present study examines the viability and proliferation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) following the addition of tick salivary gland extracts obtained from three tick species (Dermacentor marginatus, Rhipicephalus bursa and Hyalomma marginatum) to the mESC medium in different quantities (0.2, 2, 20, 40, 80, and 160 µg/ml). On days 2, 5 and 7 of the treatment, the vitality and proliferation of the cells were determined with CellTiter-Glo and morphological tests. The results showed that the culture supplemented with D. marginatus salivary gland extract at a concentration of 80 µg/ml positively affected the proliferation rate of mESC. It was further shown that all concentrations of the salivary gland extracts derived from H. marginatum and R. bursa had a negative effect on the proliferation rate of mESC when compared to the controls.
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In this work we describe abnormalities in Amblyomma coelebs and Amblyomma cf. oblongoguttatum adults collected from Tapirus bairdii. The observed anomalies in adults corresponded to general (asymmetry of scutum and idiosoma), and local malformation (atrophy and ectromely). This is the first record of morphological anomalies in A. coelebs and also it increases the observations of malformations in ticks from Nicaragua and Central America.
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Rotundabaloghia (Circobaloghia) chilensis sp. nov. is described based on one female specimen collected from soil in Osorno Coastal Range, Chile. The new species differs from the other species from the subgenus Circobaloghia in the shape of peritremes, the shape and length of the ventral and dorsal setae. This is the first record of this family in Chile and also the southernmost occurrence of the family.
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We report the presence of unusual overpopulation of the storage mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae in an office workplace, an environment that often does not provide the ideal conditions for the development of these mites. The infestation source was identified as two damaged sachets of spoiled sweetener found under the furniture of the office used for preparing and consuming refreshments.
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Leonardiella pappi sp. nov. is described based on six females and two males collected from soil under Machilus sp., in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, in Hong Kong. The new species differs from the other species from the congeners in the shape of dorsal and ventral setae and dorsal and ventral sculptural pattern. A new diagnosis to the genus Leonardiella and a new catalog to all known species are given.
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While performing a faunistic study on the superfamily Raphignathoidea of northwestern Iran, north parts of east Azerbaijan and southwest parts of west Azerbaijan provinces during 2016-2018, a total number of 40 species in 13 genera belonging to the superfamily were collected and identified. Among them, four species: Stigmaeus luxtoni Wood, 1981; Ledermuelleriopsis sezeki Doğan, 2004; Eustigmaeus gulingensis Hu and Chen, 1996 and Molothrognathus kamili Doğan, 2003 have been recorded for the first time from Iran.
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