ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to increase information about Ophionyssus natricis (Gervais, 1844) detected on the sea snake (Natrix tessellata). The mite individuals collected from the cage of a sea snake were brought to our laboratory by the owner of the snake. They werepreserved in 70% alcohol, and then the mites were mounted on slides in Canada balsam, after making them transparent in lacto phenol for a few days. They were identified to species in respect of their morphological characters under the light microscope. A total of nine mite individuals were collected from the cage of a sea snake, and all of them were identified as Ophionyssus natricis as the result of microscopical examination. Ophionyssus natricis was recorded from the sea snake for the first time in Turkey. knowledge about this mite is provided in this paper.

Keywords: Ophionyssus natricis, Macronyssidae, Natrix tessellata, sea snake, Konya, Turkey