STUDIES ON SOME AMEBAS (AMEBIDA) AND HELICOSPORIDIUM-PARASITICUM (HELICOSPORIDA) INFECTING MOSS-MITES (ORIBATEI, ACARINA) IN FOREST SOIL SAMPLES

A case of protozoan infections by some endozoic amoebae and H. parasiticum Keilin, 1921 in 6 spp. of moss-mites [Cepheus dentatus, Euezetes globulosus, Phtiracarus sp., P. globosus, Rhysotritia duplicata and Microtritia minima] from forest soil samples from West Germany is preliminarily discussed. While the amoebae were found in the gut, H. parasiticum seems to concentrate in the lymphocytes and fat body of host-animals. The shape of young and cystic stages of the amoebae and sporocysts of the other parasite were recorded using photomicrography; it gives the exact shape and size of young stages, as well as the form and size of cysts or spores, respectively, which varied in the host animals examined. Special attention was paid to the fine structure of the spores of H. parasiticum. The mature spore of H. parasiticum in the moss-mite P. globosus consists of a unilayered membrane, 3 nuclei containing some larger chromatoid bodies, and a very hard, vacuolated filament. The taxonomic position of the amoebae infecting moss-mites is not yet discussed owing to the lack of data on the morphology of some developmental stages which are important for their identification. This is the 1st information on the occurrence of amoebae and H. parasiticum in moss-mites. Their distribution and ultrastructure deserve further study.