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Multivariate discrimination among cryptic mites of the genus Androlaelaps (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) parasitic of sympatric akodontine rodents (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in northeastern Argentina: possible evidence of host switch followed by speciation, with the description of two new species

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Abstract

Laelapids are among the most common ectoparasites of rodents. Currently, it is under discussion whether there is a single polixenous species that parasites a variety of hosts, or whether there are cryptic species highly host specific. Herein, multivariate morphometric analyses of cryptic sympatric laelapids of the genus Androlaelaps allowed us to identify different species. These species are specific of their akodontine hosts, Akodon montensis and Thaptomys nigrita, in localities situated in northeastern Argentina. In addition, we analyzed similar laelapids associated with the akodontines Deltamys kempi and Akodon cursor. Using principle component analyses we differentiated four laelapid species, each one host specific, independent of sympatry of the hosts, and without geographical variation. From these four species, we described two new species (Androlaelaps navonae n. sp. and Androlaelaps wingei n. sp.). We determined the four species based on a range of variations in several characters, mainly size. These four laelapid species belong to the Androlaelaps rotundus species group, specific to akodontines. These species are very similar among them but differ from the remainder species of the group by their small size, distance between j6 setae similar to the distance between the z5 setae, strong ventral setae, opisthogaster with 13 pairs of strong setae (one close to the distal margin of epigynal shield), and anal shield wider than long. Further studies will elucidate whether they constitute a new laelapid genus. Phylogenetic and ecological factors influencing host-specificity are discussed, and we propose that host colonization could have taken place by host switching of a single laelapid species among rodent species, followed by speciation.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Ministerio de Ecología, Misiones Province, Argentina, for permissions to collect rodents and parasites; to Ulyses Pardiñas (CENPAT; Argentina) for his help with host capture and identification, his valuable commentaries on the manuscript, and by shearing long talks on rodents and parasites during our sampling trips; to Juliana Notarnicola, M. del Rosario Robles (both from CEPAVE), Noe de la Sancha (Chicago State University, IL, USA), Gisele Lessa (Universidade Federal de Viçosa, MG, Brazil), and Olga Suárez and collaborators (Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina) for providing mites; to U.P., J.N. and M.R.R., M. Cecilia Ezquiaga, Juliana Sanchez, Guillermo Panisse, Natalia Martins Guerreiro and Jorge Barneche (all from CEPAVE) for their help with fieldwork; to Maria Cristina Estivariz (CEPAVE) for the drawings, Julia Rouaux (Museo de la Plata, Argentina) for her helps with figure edition, and Luis Giambeluca (CEPAVE) for the photographs. We are grateful to an anonymous reviser of the English. The study was supported by Agencia Nacional de Ciencia y Técnica, Argentina (PICT2010-924 to G. Navone), CONICET (PIP0146 to M. Lareschi) and Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina (N618 to M. Lareschi). Authors are members of Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Argentina; ML is member of the Cátedra Zoología General, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores CEPAVE (CCT- La Plata, CONICET-UNLP), Bulevar 120 e/Av. 60 y calle 64, B1902CHX, La Plata, Argentina

    Marcela Lareschi & Carlos Galliari

  2. Cátedra Zoología General, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 122 y 60 s/n, B1902CHX, La Plata, Argentina

    Marcela Lareschi

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  1. Marcela Lareschi
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Correspondence to Marcela Lareschi.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Characters and their acronyms measured from the mites and used in morphometric analyses

Dorsal shield length (LDS); dorsal shield width at midlevel (WDS); distance between j5 setae (j5–j5); distance between z5 setae (z5–z5); length of j5 (Lj5); length of z5 (Lz5); distance between dorsal setae j6 (j6–j6); length of idiosoma (Lid); length of seta j6 (Lj6); distance between J5 setae (J5–J5); distance between Z5 setae (Z5–Z5); length of J5 (LJ5); length of Z5 (LZ5); distance between gnathosomal setae (gn–gn); length of gnathosomal seta (Lgn); length of hypostomal seta h3 (Lh3); distance between gnathosomal and hypostomal seta h3 (gn-h3); length of sternal shield (LSS); width of sternal shield at level of second sternal setae (WSS); distance between first sternal setae (st1–st1); distance between third sternal setae (st3–st3); length of anterior sternal setae (Lst1); length of third sternal setae (Lst3); length of epigynal shield (Les); distance between epigynal setae (st5–st5); greatest width of epigynal shield (>Wes); length of metasternal seta (Lst4); length of epigynal setae (Lst5); length of paranal (paa) setae (Lpaa); length of postanal (poa) seta (Lpoa); distance from postanal seta to anterior midline of anal shield (pst-edge); distance between paranal setae (paa–paa); greatest width of anal shield (>Was); length of proximal seta of coxa I (LpscI); length of distal seta of coxa I (LdscI); length of posterior seta of coxa II (LpscII); length of posterior seta of coxa III (LpscIII); length of seta of coxa IV (LscIV); length of seta ad1 in femur I (Lad1); length of ad3 in genu I (Lad3).

Appendix 2: Mites included in multivariate analysis (acronyms, number of specimens, host species and locality)

TK129542-1/2: 2 mites, A. montensis, Limoy, Alto Paraná, Paraguay (24°46′57″S, 54°26′20″W). LTU391-1/10: 10 mites, A. montensis, Salto El Paraíso, Misiones, Argentina (27º13′49″S, 54°02′24″W). JN509-1/2: 2 mites, A. montensis, Cuña Pirú, Misiones, Argentina (27°05′17″S, 54°57′09″W). CNP1835: 1 mite, A. montensis, Cuña Pirú, Misiones Province, Argentina. CG38-1/2: 2 mites, A. montensis, Parque Provincial Urugua-í, Misiones, Argentina (25º51′10.29″S, 54º10′41.53″W). LTU594-1/2: 2 mites, A. montensis, 7 km S Puerto Las Palmas, Chaco (27º09′40.53″S, 58º40′27″W). MZUFV3949-1/7: 7 mites, A. cursor, Mata do Paraíso Research Station, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil (20°46′S, 42°51′W). MZUFV2971-2: 2 mites, A. cursor, Mata do Paraíso Research Station, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. MZUFV3950-1: 1 mite, A. cursor, Mata do Paraíso Research Station, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. CNP1926-1/2: 2 mites, T. nigrita, Cuña Pirú, Misiones Province, Argentina. CNP1791-1/6: 6 mites, T. nigrita, Cuña Pirú, Misiones Province, Argentina. CNP1926-4: 1 mite, T. nigrita, Parque Provincial Urugua-í, Misiones Province, Argentina. CNP4262-1/2: 2 mites, T. nigrita, Parque Provincial Urugua-í, Misiones Province, Argentina.

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Lareschi, M., Galliari, C. Multivariate discrimination among cryptic mites of the genus Androlaelaps (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) parasitic of sympatric akodontine rodents (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in northeastern Argentina: possible evidence of host switch followed by speciation, with the description of two new species. Exp Appl Acarol 64, 479–499 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-014-9839-2

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