ABSTRACT

The present protozoan parasite lchthyosporidium sp. was reported to
infect the gut, salivary gland and embryos of the water mite Unionicola
anodontae
(Aboul-Dahab et al., 1998).TIle life history of this protozoan parasite

includes two processes, schizogony and sporogony. It caused a serious damage
to the embryos and adult forms of the mite as compression and disarrangement
of the embryonic cells, stretching and swollen epithelial gut and salivary gland
and their cytoplasm became teared into fine fragments. As a response reaction
from the mite towards the protozoan parasite, a new epithelium and free cells
were observed near the damage area of the mite gut with accumulation of
leukocytes underneath the muscle tissue and cuticle of the body.