A NEW SPECIES OF WATER MITE FROM KERALA (ACARINA: UNIONICOLINAE)

摘要

A new species of water mite, Unionicola trichurensis sp. nov. of the family Unionicolidae is described with appropriate illustrations. Kerala is a region in the Indian subcontinent with large areas of water bodies, canals and back waters. Water mitesin lentic water are often free swimming and conspicuously coloured, while more interesting species are cryptic, clinging to vegetation or buried in the substrate while a few species are parasitic in the fresh water mussels. Apart from the works of Viets(1926), Walter (1928) and Cook (1967) no information is available on these groups of mites. Hence, a systematic survey was undertaken to unravel the occurrence of new species of water mites from various districts of Kerala.