The species, Neumania papillate, is a water mite invertebrate of the Neumania genus and Arthropoda phylum as described by Marshall in 1922 (ITIS 1996). This particular species is commonly found in natural aquatic ecosystems such as freshwater lakes (Thorp & Covich 2001), small rivers, and the Atlantic Maritime (Smit & Hammen 1992). According to Thorp & Covich 2001, this species is known to form discrete communities mostly based on their adaptations in the natural setting. The table below shows the Linnaean taxonomy of the species as reflected in both the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and the University of Michigan Animal Diversity Websites. Trouessart (1888) as cited in the ITIS database gives a more detailed example of how the genus was discovered. It is imperative to note that the NCBI PubMed online does mention the species together with its genus while websites such as National Centre for Biotechnology Information database fail to give much detailed information about these classifications.
As the above table depicts, the Neumania papillate belongs to the Arachnida class. The arachnids are known for their paired and often disjointed appendages, hardened exoskeleton, a segmented body, and a comprehensively developed head. The body of the arachnids consists of two components – head fused with a thorax and an abdomen and comprises of six pairs of appendages on their bodies. The ones that are segmented into three components-head, thorax, and abdomen are the prosoma and opisthosoma. To mention them summarily, the appendages can be grouped into three main categories, namely the claw-like fangs, the walking legs, and the general-purpose mouthparts (Arachnids 2009). Most arachnids are known to live on land and are fresh-eating predators. However, the species is mostly aquatic.
The Neuman papillate species is closely related to 14 other species within the Neumania genus. These species include Neumania armata, Neumania Oenothera, Neumania distincta, Neumania extends, Neumania fragile, Neumania Hickman, Neumania kodiakica, Neumania longiseta, Neumania ovata, Neumania pubescent, Nuemania semicircular, Neumania spinipes, and Neumania tenuipalpis (Myers et al 2008). According to NCBI (online), the genus family taxonomic hierarchy consists of 35 members such as hydrachnidae, Krendowskiidae, Unionicolamong others. Examples of other animals that are closely related to the species include wandering, attractive, Estonia, and wetting (Thorp & Covich 2001).
Although there has been a noted difference of habitat preference between the male and female members of the species, successful incursion and exploitation of preferred geographical localities have often depended on the development of compatible adaptive approaches for the invertebrates. Adult members of the species have been found to favor freshwater lakes and ponds for their feeding, growth, and reproduction. The female species live longer than their male counterparts and produce multiple clutches of eggs. In their larval stage, this type of water mites has been found to prefer “parasitism and dispersal on hosts”. The seasonality of the termites varies from one season to the other. For instance, in temperature latitudes, they live for one year. These seasonal variations minimize the risks associated with the parasitic larva stage. Parasitism occurs mainly in hot spring and late summer since hosts are seasonally limited and larva spends several days in their hosts which later results in modest growth. Species in this group undergo modest growth during the larvae stage which results in to increase in volume to 700 times their original size and the larva lasts approximately one week (Thorp & Covich 568).
As is the case with other species of the genus, the water mites are consistently provided with chances to colonize new geographical locations by the passive transport mode of their larva on hosts. Overall, the species is mostly found in seepage areas of streams, riffle habitats, and sand and gravel deposits found in rivers to depths of 1mm or more. Other preferred natural habitats include permanent ponds, marshes, temporary pools, swamps, and bogs. (Thorp & Covich 2001).
The lifespan of most water mites of the species is generally short. Consecutive studies have revealed that most water mites of this species living in temperament latitudes do not exceed one year of life. Most of this time is exhausted in deutonymphal and adult stages. However, males have a far shorter lifespan than their female counterparts since they die immediately after or a few days after mating with females (Thorp & Covich 2001). During the initialization of the mating season, males are known to chemically communicate with the females by vigorously fanning some water over the spermatophore nets towards the females. In other words, the courting males vigorously vibrate their legs to fan pheromones directly to their female counterparts. The females respond to this stimulation as they usually respond to vibrations caused by moving prey (Manning & Dawkins 1998).
During the mating process, the females distinguish the males as prospective mates only after the courting males have deposited some spermatophores (Mate Choice 2000). The fact that this type of water mite appears to have no identifiable sex chromosomes, a condition is known as Diplo-diploid, is rather interesting. According to Thorp and Covich (2001), the mated females can live for many months, continuing to feed in their natural settings while producing some clutches of eggs. The water mites mostly mate towards the end of summer but fertilization is usually delayed. However, the females release their eggs only when they are fertilized by the males. In the species, the males do not appear to discriminate between unmated and previously mated females. Indeed, they undertake to mate with all the female members they encounter. Eventually, the male water mites within this species produce a considerably higher number of spermatophores for unmated or virginal females (Thorp & Covich 2001).
According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2009), Neumania papillate is not endangered as it is not included in the database. The threat that can be depicted regarding the species is the continued human encroachment in its natural habitats. Ponds, streams, and lakes continue to be polluted by human activities at an alarming rate, and it’s only a matter of time before the species is included in the red list of the world’s most endangered species.
Works Cited
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“IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”. 2009. Web.
Manning, A., & Dawkins, M.S. 1998. An Introduction to Animal Behaviour. London: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
“Mate Choice and Genetic Variation in Male Courtship Song in Drosophila Montana”. 2000. Web.
Mitchell, R.D. 1995. Anatomy, Life History, and Evolution of the Mites Parasitizing Fresh Water Mussels. Web.
Myers, P.R., Espinosa, C.S., Parr, T.J, G.S., Hammond, G.S., & Dewey, T.A. 2008. The Animal Diversity Web.
Smit, H., & Hammen, H. “Water Mites as Indicators of Natural Aquatic Ecosystems of the Coastal Dunes of the Netherlands and North-western France.” Hydrobiologia, vol. 231, No. 1 (2004): 46-76.
Thorp, J.H., & Covich, A.P. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. New York: Academic Press, 2001.