Research Article |
Corresponding author: Soo Hyung Eo ( eosoohyung@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Vladimir Pesic
© 2024 Jeong Hun Shim, Yeong-Deok Han, Sukyung Kim, Dongsoo Ha, Yongun Shin, Soo Hyung Eo.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Shim JH, Han Y-D, Kim S, Ha D, Shin Y, Eo SH (2024) A new feather mite species of the genus Mycterialges Gaud & Atyeo, 1981 (Acari, Xolalgidae) from the Oriental Stork, Ciconia boyciana (Ciconiiformes, Ciconiidae) in Korea. ZooKeys 1192: 179-196. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1192.115749
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A new feather mite species, Mycterialges boycianae sp. nov. (Xolalgidae), was identified from the Oriental Stork, Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873, in Korea. Males of M. boycianae sp. nov. are distinguished from Mycterialges mesomorphus Gaud & Atyeo, 1981, in having a single triangular prodorsal shield, sinuous margins of the opisthosoma located between setae e2 and h2 on the hysteronotal shield, an oval-shaped epiandrum without posterior extensions, a shorter tibia + tarsus IV than femoragenu IV, and an absent ambulacral disc of leg IV. Females differ in having a prodorsal shield with a posterior margin that is blunt-angular, and a concave posterior margin of the hysteronotal shield with posterior extensions. This study presents the first record of the feather mite genus Mycterialges in birds of the genus Ciconia (Ciconiidae). Additionally, we determined the phylogenetic relationship among Ingrassiinae using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit (COI).
Analgoidea, Astigmata, COI, ectosymbionts, Ingrassiinae, systematics, taxonomy
Feather mites (Astigmata) belong to two superfamilies (Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea), most of which are permanent ectosymbionts. These mites live on specific feathers and microsites on feathers, primarily consuming fungi and bacteria (
The genus Mycterialges Gaud & Atyeo, 1981 is distinguished from other genera in the family Xolalgidae Dubinin, 1953 (Analgoidea) by the number of setae on the anterior tarsi, ambularcal disc shape, male opisthosomal lobes structure and legs IV, and the female’s epigynum form (
The family Ciconiidae consists of 20 species in six genera, which are found on all continents except Antarctica. In Korea, two species of the genus Ciconia occur: the Black Stork, Ciconia nigra (Linnaeus, 1758) and the Oriental Stork, Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873. Both species are observed as winter visitors and are designated as “Endangered Species Level I” by the Korea Ministry of Environment (
Research on the migration routes and nest selection of C. boyciana has mainly been conducted in East Asia (
This study reports a new species of feather mite of the genus Mycterialges found on captive C. boyciana in Korea. We provide information on the external morphology of the newly discovered feather mite species. In addition, we used the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence information to determine the phylogenetic relationship between the new species and known closely related species.
Feather mite sampling from three captive C. boyciana individuals was conducted in the same cage at Yesan Oriental Stork Park in Korea in October 2022, with permission from the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (B0030104016624). To minimize stress during the investigation, the storks were blindfolded and immobilized by the keepers; the procedure was completed within a maximum of five minutes for each individual. A new species of feather mites was identified from the wing and body feathers of the birds. The mites were carefully removed from the feathers using tweezers, and the collected mites were preserved in 95% ethanol solution. The specimens were mounted on microscope slides using a polyvinyl alcohol mounting medium (BioQuip, California, USA) after clearing with 10% lactic acid (
Descriptions of a new species followed the standard formats proposed for mites of the subfamily Ingrassiinae Gaud and Atyeo 1981 (
Genomic DNA was extracted from three specimens of the new feather mite using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). The COI barcode fragment was amplified using primer set, bcdF05 (5′-TTTTCTACHAAYCATAAAGATATTGC-3′) and bcdR04 (5′- TATAAACYTCDGGATGNCCAAAAAA-3′) (
Sequence editing including assembly, alignment, and trimming, was performed using the GENEIOUS v.10.2.5 software (
Feather mites used for the phylogenetic analysis in this study (COI barcode fragment).
Mite subfamily | Mite species | Host species | Sample source | GenBank accession No. | Reference |
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Xolalginae (outgroup) | Xolalgoides sp. | Vireo hypochryseus | Mexico | KU203107 |
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Ingrassiinae | Analloptes sp. | Xiporhynchus flavigaster | KU203108 | ||
Glaucalges sp. | Tyto alba | Germany | EU271955 |
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EU271956 | |||||
Glaucalges attenuatus | Asio otus | EU271957 | |||
EU271958 | |||||
Ingrassia sp. | – | – | EU271954 | Unpublishied | |
– | – | GQ864347 |
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Ingrassia chionis | Chionis albus | Antarctica | MZ489649 |
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MZ489650 | |||||
Ingrassia oceanodromae | – | – | OL685164 | Unpublishied | |
Ingrassia philomachi | Calidris pugnax | Kazakhstan | KU203104 |
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Ingrassia veligera | Tringa glareola | Korea | MK031706 |
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Ingrassiella sp. | Catharus fuscater | Peru | KU203102 |
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Metingrassia pelecani | – | – | MG407963 | Unpublishied | |
– | – | MG408765 | |||
– | – | MG410544 | |||
Mycterialges boycianae sp. nov. | Ciconia boyciana | Korea | OR802170 | This study | |
OR802171 | |||||
OR802172 | |||||
Vingrassia velata | Anas crecca | Russia | KU203105 |
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Superfamily Analgoidea Trouessart & Mégnin, 1884
Family Xolalgidae Dubinin, 1953
Subfamily Ingrassiinae Gaud & Atyeo, 1981
Mycterialges mesomorphus Gaud & Atyeo, 1981, by original designation.
To date, the genus Mycterialges has included only one described species, M. mesomorphus, found on the Wood Stork, Mycteria americana (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae), in Florida, USA (
Male holotype (Prof. Eo lab, Kongju National University no. ESH_Em00001), and two male and three female paratypes (Prof. Eo lab no. ESH_Em00002-ESH_Em00006) from wing coverts and plumages of Ciconia boyciana (Ciconiiformes: Ciconiidae), Korea, Chungcheongnam-do, Yesan-gun, Yesan Oriental Stork Park, 36°32'32"N, 126°48'08"E, 17 October 2022, coll. by Shim JH and Han Y.-D.
Male (holotype, range for 2 paratypes in parentheses) (Figs
Epimerites I fused into a Y with stem about 2/3 the length of epimerites. Coxal fields I–II open; coxal fields III almost closed, with small gap in anterior end. Coxal fields IV completely sclerotized, with posterolateral angles fused with lateral margins of hysteronotal shields. Setae 4a and 4b situated on inner margins of sclerotized coxal fields IV. Coxal setae 4b posterior to level of setae 3a. Genital apparatus 21 (20–21) long and 19 (18–20) wide, with base situated at level of anterior margin of trochanters IV. Paragenital apodemes fused into large teardrop-shaped sclerite 72 (72–78) long and 30 (27–32) wide, encircling genital apparatus and setae g. Genital papillae situated on anterior part of fused paragenital apodemes. Opisthoventral shields fused to each other at midline forming entire shield flanking anal field posterolaterally. Diameter of adanal suckers 7 (7–8). Distance between ventral setae: 4b:4b 30 (38–43), 4b:3a 21 (17–18), 4b:g 95 (81–86), g:ps3 37 (40–41), ps3:h3 70 (62–72).
Tarsi I, II without apico-dorsal extension. Ventral setae la, s of tarsi I and setae la, wa and s of tarsi II absent. Tibia I, II with spine-like ventral processes. Leg IV short and thickened, with tibia and tarsus extending beyond lobar apices. Length of tibia IV along external margin 19 (18–22). Tarsus IV conical, 25 (24–26) long, ambulacral disc absent, ambulacral stalk acute apically, setae d and e of tarsus IV filiform and spine, respectively. Length of solenidia: σ I 90 (64–77), σII 47 (43–46), σIII 68 (63–64), φI 100 (93–94), φII 105 (77–90), φIII 87 (83–88), φIV 33 (32–32).
Female. (Range for 3 paratypes) (Figs
Epimerites I fused into a Y, stem about half as long as epimerites. Epigynum shaped as thick bow-shaped transverse bulk with a pair of acute posterior branches, 29–34 long, 56–63 wide. Apodemes of oviporus long, posterior ends extending to midlevel of trochanters III (Fig.
Legs I, II as in the male. Leg IV with distal half of tarsus extending beyond posterior end of opisthosoma. Tarsi III, IV without apical spines. Length of tarsi III and IV 73–75 and 81–84, respectively. Lengths of solienidia: σI 67–71, σII 24–33, σIII 49–52, φIII 57–67, φIV 91–100 (Fig.
The genus Mycterialges has included only the type species, Mycterialges mesomorphus, and one additional undescribed species (
The specific name is taken from the species epithet of the type host and is a noun in the genitive case.
The ML phylogenetic tree of the COI barcode fragment showed Mycterialges boycianae sp. nov. to be grouped within the subfamily Ingrassiinae clade with three individuals of M. boycianae, exhibiting 93.7% bootstrap support for this grouping. Among the COI sequences collected from NCBI, the genus Glaucalges formed the clade closest to M. boycianae (Fig.
This study describes a new feather mite species, Mycterialges boycianae sp. nov. found on the wings and body of captive Ciconia boyciana at the Yesan Oriental Stork Park in Korea. The genus Mycterialges has the following features: in both sexes, tarsi I, II only have two and one ventral setae, respectively, and the ambulacral disc is inverted triangle-shaped with a concave middle; in males, the opisthosomal lobes are fused and bluntly rounded, leg IV is hypertrophied; in females, the epigynum is short and straight (
We showed the phylogenetic relationship of Ingrassiinae using the COI barcode fragment (Fig.
Finally, we discuss the situations faced by M. boycianae. This mite’s host, C. boyciana, is not only an endangered species in Korea, but is also listed as an ‘Endangered’ (EN) species on the International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN) Red List (
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Junhee Hyeon, Youngjun Kim, Byungho Yoon, and Sangrim Park from Yesan Oriental Stork Park, and Nayoung Koh and other members of the Eo Lab, who assisted with the sampling.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
This research was supported by the reintroduction project of Oriental Stork funded by the Cultural Heritage Administration and Yesan County and a grant from the Kongju National University, Republic of Korea, in 2020.
Funding acquisition: YS. Investigation: YDH, JHS. Methodology: JHS, YDH. Project administration: SK, SHE, DH. Supervision: SHE. Writing – original draft: JHS. Writing – review and editing: SHE, YDH.
Jeong Hun Shim https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1858-7725
Yeong-Deok Han https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6625-8966
Sukyung Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3545-0282
Dongsoo Ha https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1943-9190
Yongun Shin https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7491-994X
Soo Hyung Eo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6719-1612
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.