Demodex neomydis sp. n. (Acari: Demodecidae) from the hair follicles of the Mediterranean water shrew, Neomys anomalus (Insectivora: Soricidae).

Demodex neomydis sp. n. from the Mediterranean water shrew, Neomys anomalus, is described as a new species in all developmental stages. This demodecid is classified as a member of the genus Demodex Owen, 1843, but shows several morphological characters described in Soricidex dimorphus Bukva, 1982 and which are absent or very infrequent in other known Demodex species, viz., in the adult stage, a pair of shelf-like lamellae on the dorsum of the podosoma, dorso-lateral extension of the podosoma over the basal part of the gnathosoma, multiple opisthosomal organ in the male, and podosomal position of the vulva in the female. Immature stages of D. neomydis have unusual inflated idiosoma and dorsad deflected gnathosoma. All developmental stages of D. neomydis were found in the lumen of the hair follicles on the host's muzzle, causing no gross pathological response. On histological level, the main pathological change was distension of infested hair follicles by accumulations of up to a dozen mites, which appear to feed on the epithelial cells of the hair follicle walls.