Parasite?!

[TJ]

Can anybody identify this bug? I found a few crawling along the skin of my unidentified (suspect delostali) Paramesotriton.

 

[ralf]

Hi Tim,
hard to tell from the pictures. In the last picture it looks like legs sticking out from underneath it. Are you able to count them? From first impression I'd say its a mite, but haven't observed anything like it on my newts. Parasitic mites on amphibians have been described before (Genus Hannemania). How many of these bugs are there on each newt? Are you able to perceive any bite- or stingmarks on the animals (also in skin folds)?
Does it posess anything looking like abdominal fins (two) on one side or do you see a segmentation of the main body?

Ralf

 

[TJ]

Hi Ralf,
What amazing perception! I didn't notice those legs, only that these bugs can walk (shouldn't have said "crawl") fairly quickly across the newt's body so had to have legs. I managed to get a clearer pic, and it was only after magnifying the pic that I noticed the legs, which look a bit like spider legs.

I counted 2 bugs on one newt, 1 on another, and none on a third newt in the tank. There is yet one more newt in the tank that I haven't been able to inspect through the glass yet. I can't see any bite marks or any skin probs

 

[TJ]

I don't want to handle these newts given what happened with the one I lost, so I'm thinking of using a turkey baster to debug them...

 

[ralf]

Hi Tim,
here is some general information on mites:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0833455.html

I'm not sure, if your "invader" is a mite at all, though. If it is segmented and if those dark spots in the magnified picture are eyes it could also be a parasitic crustacean (Family Argulidae) commonly known as "fish-lice".
For Argulus look here:
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/argulus.html

There are a lot of different species within this family so the pictures on that website may not exactly resemble your "guests".

What is a turkey baster, Tim? Hope you don't want to use a turkey blaster,ha,ha,ha!!

Ralf

 

[edward]

Hi All,
Trombicula sp. mites (chiggers) have also been known to attack and feed on salamanders and newts (personal communication,Wright Kevin).
Tim have these invaders only been observed on the newts and not on any other part of the aquarium or substrate? Do they ever look to be attached toh the newts ala snake mites or are theyt always mobile?
Have you looked at them under a scope and compared them to various crustaceans some of which are grazers and may be feeding on dead skin particles instead of being an active parasite?
Ed

 

[TJ]

Thanks guys!

Ed, I just checked the tank and could see no such invaders elsewhere in the aquarium. No, they're not always mobile. Guess this might mean they're parasitic. If they're only feeding on dead skin particles and perform a cleaning functon, then they're welcome guests. Otherwise they'll be "terminated with extreme prejudice"!

Ralf, no, don't intend to go on a turkey shoot to rid myself of them for fear of "collateral damage"

I never knew what a "turkey baster" was either until recently. In Japanese, it's called a "spoit" (an imported word, I think). I used to call them "spoits" when speaking English until somebody told me they hadn't a clue as to what I was talking about!

 

[edward]

Hi Tim,
The reason I asked what they were doing is that they looked vagely like clam shrimp (which also look like they have legs). I am unaware of any parasitic clam shrimp (but that doesn't mean that there aren't any). If they were clam shrimp then they would probably be harmless.
As it sounds like they may be parasitic good luck in getting rid of them.
Ed

 

[jennifer]

Tim, be careful that the "spoit" doesn't spread any organisms from the infected newts to other tanks. Maybe you need a separate spoit for each set of tanks. I shudder to think of trying to decontaminate that huge tank of yours.