# The first finding of the snake mite Ophionyssus natricis (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) in Kazakhstan

Maria V Orlova, Nikolay V Anisimov, Kazhmurat Akhmedenov, Anastasia

Klenina, Evgeniy Simonov

► To cite this version:

Maria V Orlova, Nikolay V Anisimov, Kazhmurat Akhmedenov, Anastasia Klenina, Evgeniy Simonov. The first finding of the snake mite Ophionyssus natricis (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) in Kazakhstan. Acarologia, 2025, 65 (2), pp.584-588. 10.24349/cgbc-bond. hal-05122195

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# The first finding of the snake mite
*Ophionyssus natricis* (Acari:
*Mesostigmata: Gamasina*) in
Kazakhstan

Maria V. Orlova IDa,b, Nikolay V. Anisimov IDa, Kazhmurat Akhmedenov Id,c, Anastasia Klenina IDd, Evgeniy Simonov Id,e

Original research

ABSTRACT

Here we report the ectoparasitic snake mite *Ophionyssus natricis* (Gervais, 1844) collected from the dice snake, *Natrix tessellata* (Laurenti, 1768) (Reptilia: Colubridae), in Mangystau, Kazakhstan. This is the first record of *O. natricis* for the country. We also consider some morphological features of the snake mite in the study area.

**Keywords** Mangystau; dice snake; snake mite; ectoparasites

Introduction

Mites in the family Macronyssidae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) are mostly obligate
blood-sucking ectoparasites of mammals, birds and reptiles. The family currently includes 34
genera with approximately 240 species (Radovsky, 2010). The genus *Ophionyssus* Mégnin,
1884a currently includes 14 species worldwide (Beron, 2014). Today, the species of greatest
documented veterinary and medical importance is *Ophionyssus natricis* (Gervais, 1844).
Snakes and lizards infested by this mite may suffer from abnormal shedding (i.e. dysecdysis),
and heavy infestation can cause anemia and even result in mortality. This mite has also been
identified as a possible vector of several blood-borne bacterial, filariid and viral pathogens of
snakes, and has also been implicated in instances of dermatitis in humans (Norval *et al.*, 2000).
Also *O. natricis* is a mechanical vector of *Aeromonas hydrophila* Chester, 1901, the causative
agent of hemorrhagic disease in reptiles (Orlova *et al.*, 2024).

**Material and methods**

Mites were collected with forceps from the body surface of a dice snake, *Natrix tessellata*
(Laurenti, 1768), in the Mangystau province of Kazakhstan (Fig. 1), transferred to 70% alcohol,
and mounted on slides in Faure-Berlese medium. Mites were identified according to the key of
Moraza *et al.* (2009). External measurements were made in micrometers (µm). Slide-mounted
voucher specimens were deposited in the Parasitological Collection of the Tyumen State
Medical University (Tyumen, Russia).

Received 30 November 2024

Accepted 12 June 2025

Published 18 June 2025

Corresponding author

Maria V. Orlova ID:
masha_orlova@mail.ru

Academic editor

Faraji, Farid

https://doi.org/10.24349/cgbc-bond

ISSN 0044-586X (print)

ISSN 2107-7207 (electronic)

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

Orlova M. V. et al.

Licensed under
Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0

<footnote>ªTyumen State Medical University, Tyumen, Russia.</footnote>

<footnote>ᵇNational Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia.</footnote>

<footnote>ᶜM. Utemisov West Kazakhstan University, Uralsk, Kazakhstan.</footnote>

<footnote>d. Samara Federal Research Scientific Center RAS, Institute of Ecology of Volga River Basin RAS, Togliatti, Russia.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russia.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1** The map (A) and the landscape (B) where host *Natrix tessellata* (C) was caught.</figcaption></figure>

**Results and discussion**

The geographic distribution and host range of the snake mite was recently reviewed by Orlova *et al*. (2024). Our new locality and country record shows that the full distribution of this mite remains unknown, although we are uncertain if this new record is part of its native range, an expanding native range, or a human-mediated introduction. However, our new findings indicate that the distribution of this species requires further study

**Differential diagnosis**

The measurements of the body parts of the collected specimens are presented in Table 1. According to the key of Moraza *et al*. (2009) protonymphs of *O. natricis* are morphologically similar to *O. eremiadis* (Naglov & Naglova, 1960) described from several racerunner species *Eremias* sp. (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Kazakhstan. The species *O. eremiadis* has a fairly brief description, but it contains clear features that distinguish it from other species of the genus. The protonymph of *O. natricis*, however, differs in the chaetotaxy and characteristics of some setae. In protonymphs, setae z2 are located on the podonotal shield (in contrast to the position of z2 on the cuticle in *O. eremiadis*); setae z5 are slightly longer than z4 (z5 setae is conspicuously longer than z4 in *O. eremiadis*); and the length to width ratio of the pygidial shield is 0.8-0.9 (in contrast to a ratio of 0.6 in *O. eremiadis*) (Naglov & Naglova 1960; Moraza *et al*. 2009; Fig. 2C; Table 1).

**Material**

Three protonymphs of *O. natricis* (Gervais, 1844) (Fig. 2 A, B) ex dice snake *N. tessellata* (adult female) (Reptilia: Colubridae) (Fig. 2 C, D) from Mangystau province, Kazakhstan,
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2** *Ophionyssus natricis* (ex *Natrix tessellata* from Kazakhstan), protonymph: A – Photo, dorsally; B – Drawing, dorsally, scale bar = 50µm; C – Photo, ventrally; D – Drawing, ventrally, scale bar = 50µm.</figcaption></figure>
43°07' N 51°40' E; 14 IX 2023; legs. E. Simonov, K. Akhmedenov, A. Klenina.

Remark

According to Radovsky (2010), protonymphs of *Ophionyssus* have setae Z4-Z5 on the pygidial shield and setae J4 on or off the shield, the palpal trochanter may have a low ridge-like process, and the chelicera is basally swollen.

Distribution

Worldwide. In Asia, the species have been recorded in Kazakhstan (this article, new record), Russia (Siberia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Northern Korea, Japan (Orlova *et al.*, 2024).

Hosts

Mostly snakes belonging to various species (Orlova *et al.*, 2024).

Note

Abdushukurova *et al.* (1966) listed numerous occurrences of *O. natricis* in Central Asia without specifically mentioning Kazakhstan as a locality, so we consider our finding to be the first for this country.

The snake mite specimens from Kazakhstan are larger than those from Azerbaijan and Japan (Table 1). Morphometric data on *O. natricis* are very limited at present, but given the remarkably wide distribution of this species, the polymorphism of the mite is of great interest. Further research is needed to explore various aspects of the biology of *O. natricis*.

Acknowledgment

This research was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (grant No. AP 19675960).

<table><caption>**Table 1** Measurements of *Ophionyssus natricis* (Gervais, 1844) ex *Natrix tessellata* from Kazakhstan. Note: In each cell in the second column the first figure is arithmetic mean, and in brackets there are three numerical values from three individuals.</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>Kazakhstan<br>(this article, n=3)</th><th>Azerbaijan<br>(Orlova et al., 2024)</th><th>Japan<br>(Zhang & Uchikawa, 1993)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Idiosoma</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Length</td><td>456 (462, 429, 477)</td><td>361, 369</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td>Width</td><td>270 (272, 233, 306)</td><td>221, 227</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Podonotal shield</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Length</td><td>233 (241, 212, 247)</td><td>177, 181</td><td>180–235</td></tr><tr><td>Width</td><td>243 (243, 225, 262)</td><td>182, 189</td><td>190–240</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Pygidial shield</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Length</td><td>74 (81, 63, 79)</td><td>48, 52</td><td>50–75</td></tr><tr><td>Width</td><td>83 (85, 78, 87)</td><td>71, 79</td><td>75–90</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Sternal shield</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Length</td><td>123 (124, 115, 130)</td><td>101</td><td>110</td></tr><tr><td>Width</td><td>83 (89, 73, 88)</td><td>72</td><td>75–80</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Anal shield</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Length</td><td>64 (60, 58, 73)</td><td>41, 48</td><td>55–65</td></tr><tr><td>Width</td><td>45 (46, 42, 46)</td><td>36, 38</td><td>42–55</td></tr></tbody></table>
ORCID

Maria V. Orlova https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7811-4364

Nikolay V. Anisimov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1573-3373

Kazhmurat Akhmedenov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7294-0913

Anastasia Klenina https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8997-3866

Evgeniy Simonov https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0194-4487

References

Abdushukurova R.U., Markov G.S., Bogdanov O.P. 1966. On the parasitic fauna of the dice snake. Vertebrates of Central Asia (Collection of articles dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR T.Z. Zahidov). Tashkent, Fan Publishing House. p. 215-220. [In Russian]

Beron P. 2014. Acarorum Catalogus. III. Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida, Holothyrida, Mesostigmata. Sofia: Pensoft. pp. 286.

Moraza M.L., Irwin N.R., Godinho R., Baird S.J.E., de Bellocq J.G. 2009. A new species of *Ophionyssus* Mégnin (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) parasitic on *Lacerta schreiberi* Bedriaga (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from the Iberian Peninsula, and a world key to species. Zootaxa, 2009: 58-68.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2007.1.3

Naglov V.A., Naglova G.I. 1960. New species of the mite of *Ophionyssus* (Parasitiformes: Gamasoidea). Parazitologicheskij Sbornik, 19: 164-168 [In Russian]

Norval G. Halliday B., Sih A. , Sharrad R.D., Gardner M.G. 2020. Occurrence of the introduced snake mite, *Ophionyssus natricis* (Gervais, 1844), in the wild in Australia. Acarologia 60(3): 559-565.
https://doi.org/10.24349/acarologia/20204385

Orlova M.V., Halliday B., Reeves W.K., Doronin I.V., Mishchenko V.A., Vyalykh I.V., Kidov A. 2024. Review of the distribution and biology of the snake mite *Ophionyssus natricis* (Acari: Macronyssidae). Acarologia 64(2): 637-653. https://doi.org/10.24349/gmr0-8m9o

Radovsky F.J. 2010. Revision of Genera of the Parasitic Mite Family Macronyssidae (Mesostigmata: Dermanyssoidea) of the World. West Bloomfield: Indira Publishing House. pp. 170.

Zhang M.-Y., Uchikawa K. 1993. Occurrence of *Ophionyssus natricis* on zoo snakes in Japan (Mesostigmata, Macronyssidae). Journal of the Acarological Society of Japan, 2: 75-78.
https://doi.org/10.2300/acari.2.75