Polydiscia deuterosminthurus is a species of mite recently discovered in the autonomous community of Navarre in Spain.
| Polydiscia deuterosminthurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Trombidiformes |
| Family: | Tanaupodidae |
| Genus: | Polydiscia |
| Species: | P. deuterosminthurus
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| Binomial name | |
| Polydiscia deuterosminthurus Baquero, Moraza & Jordana, 2003
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Only the six-legged larval stage is so far known. This lives as a parasite on the springtail Deuterosminthurus bisetosus, which was discovered at the same time as the parasite. The association between the two species only seems to last for a few weeks in May and June. Both creatures appear to be entirely restricted to a single host plant at this stage of their life cycle: the broom Genista hispanica.
These red mites are tiny, less than 0.3 mm in length but are huge in comparison to their hosts, averaging a third of the length of Deuterosminthurus bisetosus, to which they attach piggyback-fashion, the jaws embedded in the joint between head and prothorax. The remainder of the life cycle of this mite remains a total mystery.
References edit
- E. Baquero, M. L. Moraza and R. Jordana (2003). "A new species of Polydiscia (Acari, Prostigmata, Tanaupodidae) with reference to its host: a new species of Deuterosminthurus (Collembola, Symphypleona, Bourletiellidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 188: 1–16. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.188.1.1. hdl:10171/27533.
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