Halarachne americana (Caribbean Monk Seal Nasal Mite)

[Peter]

The only parasite identified from Monachus tropicalis (Caribbean or West Indian Monk Seal) is the nasal mite Halarachne americana (Acari, Halarachinidae 5 Gamasidae, Dermanyssidae), recovered in great numbers and in all stages of its life cycle from the respiratory passages of a single captive specimen (Banks 1899; Dailey and Brownell 1972; Ferris 1925; Furman and Dailey 1980; Newell 1947). H. americana is only known from M. tropicalis. M. tropicalis carried heavy parasitic helminth loads (Adam and Garcia 2003; Grant 1911; Ward 1887), but the identity of these worms described only as being ‘‘several inches in length’’ (Ward 1887:262), is not known. The observation that worms swarmed out of the vagina in freshly killed West Indian monk seals (Ward 1887) is probably erroneous (Rice 1973). Unidentified, minute algae grew on fur (Ward 1887; incorrectly cited as fungus by Rice 1973).

Source: Adam, P.J. 2004. Monachus tropicalis. Mammalian Species: No 747: 1-9. American Society of Mammalogists.
www.monachus-guardian.org/library/adam04a.pdf

[Peter]

A good example of co-extinction!

[Deleted]

Hi !

It's sad that we have lost the Carribean Monk Seal, I think most people agree.

But it's hard to feel sad about the loss of an parasite. I'm not sure if I should be sad about such an extinction, its more like just count it, mention it as an interesting example of co-extinction ...

[surroundx]

Original description:

Banks, Nathan. (1899). A new species of the genus Halarachne. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 4: 212-214.