Occurrence of the mite Ophionyssus natricis (Acari: Macronyssidae) on captive snakes from Panama

We report for the first time the presence of the snake mite, Ophionyssus natricis (Gervais) (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) on captive snakes kept in Panama City, Panama. This occurrence adds a new record to the geographical distribution of O. natricis as well as confirming its high prevalence on captive reptiles. Several Boidae species, Boa constrictor, Epicrates maurus, Corallus ruschenbergerii, Corallus caninus and a Pythonidae, Python regius were found infested with intensities varying from 10 to 2200 mites each. These findings represent the second record of O. natricis for Central America.