Global InformationRiccardoella limacum information
| Riccardoella limacum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Trombidiformes |
| Family: | Ereynetidae |
| Genus: | Riccardoella |
| Species: | R. limacum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Riccardoella limacum (Schrank, 1776)
| |
Riccardoella limacum or the white snail mite is a member of the Acari (mite)[1] family which is parasitic primarily on snails. Slug mites are very small (less than 0.5 mm in length), white, and can be seen to move very rapidly over the surface of their host, particularly under the shell rim and near the pulmonary aperture. While once thought to be benign mucophages, more recent studies have shown that they actually subsist on the host's blood,[2][3] and may bore into the host's body to feed.
Studies have shown that this species name has been frequently misapplied to the more widespread Riccardoella oudemansi, the white slug mite. Despite its name, R. limacum is typically a restricted parasite of snails, while R. oudemansi is the common species on slugs, although it occasionally feeds on snails too.[4]
- ^ Schüpbach HU, Baur B (December 2008). "Experimental evidence for a new transmission route in a parasitic mite and its mucus-dependent orientation towards the host snail". Parasitology. 135 (14): 1679–84. doi:10.1017/S0031182008005039. PMID 19000332. S2CID 26926147.
- ^ Barker, G. M.; G. W. Ramsay (1978). "The slug mite Riccardoella limacum (Acari: Ereynetidae) in New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Entomologist. 6 (4): 441–443. Bibcode:1978NZEnt...6..441B. doi:10.1080/00779962.1978.9722316. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2008.
- ^ Baker, R. A. (October–December 1978). "The food of Riccardoella limacum (Schrank) - Acari-Trombidiformes and its relationship with pulmonate molluscs". Journal of Natural History. 4 (4): 521–530. doi:10.1080/00222937000770481.
- ^ S. A. Zabludovskaya; I. V. Badanin (2010). "The Slug Mite Riccardoella (Proriccardoella) Oudemansi (Prostigmata, Ereynetidae) from Ukraine" (PDF). Vestnik Zoologii. 44 (2): 163–166. doi:10.2478/v10058-010-0009-7. S2CID 83586857. Retrieved 26 March 2022.