Occurrence of Halarachne halichoeri in Mirounga leonina on the Coast of Argentina (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Halarachnidae) with a Review of Worldwide Records
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Methods of Collection
2.2. Specimen Handling and Morphological Identification of H. halichoeri
2.3. Review of Worldwide Geographic Records of H. halichoeri
3. Results
3.1. Identification of H. halichoeri Specimens and Sex Recognition
3.2. Developmental Parameters of H. halichoeri
3.3. Worldwide Geographic Records of H. halichoeri
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Host Species | Taxonomic Author | References | Geographic Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cystophora cristata Hooded seal | (Erxleben, 1777) | [10] 1 | - |
| Enhydra lutris nereis Sea otter | (Linnaeus, 1758) | [22,23,24] | Central California coast (USA). |
| Halichoerus grypus Gray seal | (Fabricius, 1791) | [10,14,15,19,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39] | North-Western Atlantic European coast (Spain). Galicia coast (Spain). Dublin coast (Ireland). Dee Estuary (England). Rügen island (Germany). North and Baltic Sea (Germany). Baltic Sea (Poland). Scilly Isles (England). Beaches (England). North coast of Cornwall (England). Southern Outer Hebrides (Scotland). North-west coast (Netherlands). Schleswig-Holstein coast (Germany). Sylt island (Germany). |
| Mirounga angustirostris Northern elephant seal | (Gill, 1866) | [21] | Central California coast (USA). |
| Mirounga leonina Southern elephant seal | (Linnaeus, 1758) | [11,40,41] This study | Palmer Peninsula (Antarctica). Macquarie Island (Australia). Coast of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). |
| Monachus monachus Mediterranean monk seal | (Hermann, 1779) | [42,43] | Pagasitikos Gulf (Greece). |
| Phoca largha Spotted seal | Pallas, 1811 | [44] | Bering Sea (Alaska). |
| Phoca vitulina Harbor seal | (Linnaeus, 1758) | [10,12,15,21,30,45,46,47,48] | Pacific Grove, California (USA). St. Paul Island (Alaska). North and Baltic Sea (Germany). Central California coast (USA). Coast (Scotland). Baltic Sea (Germany). Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington (USA). |
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Castelo, M.K.; Loureiro, J.P. Occurrence of Halarachne halichoeri in Mirounga leonina on the Coast of Argentina (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Halarachnidae) with a Review of Worldwide Records. Diversity 2025, 17, 789. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17110789
Castelo MK, Loureiro JP. Occurrence of Halarachne halichoeri in Mirounga leonina on the Coast of Argentina (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Halarachnidae) with a Review of Worldwide Records. Diversity. 2025; 17(11):789. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17110789
Chicago/Turabian StyleCastelo, Marcela Karina, and Juan Pablo Loureiro. 2025. "Occurrence of Halarachne halichoeri in Mirounga leonina on the Coast of Argentina (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Halarachnidae) with a Review of Worldwide Records" Diversity 17, no. 11: 789. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17110789
APA StyleCastelo, M. K., & Loureiro, J. P. (2025). Occurrence of Halarachne halichoeri in Mirounga leonina on the Coast of Argentina (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata, Halarachnidae) with a Review of Worldwide Records. Diversity, 17(11), 789. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17110789

