Arthropod Hosts and Habitats

Abstract

All known hosts of trichomycetes belong to the Subphylum Mandibulata of the Arthropoda. To the extent that these fungi have been studied, no assimilative stage occurs while they are disassociated from their hosts, although maturation of some resistant spores and the development of cysts in the Amoebidiales may take place in the shed molt or on a nonhost substrate. Three classes of arthropods are involved: Crustacea, Diplopoda, and Insecta (Figs. 4.1 and 4.2). Asellaria scutigera (nom. nud.) was reported by Manier in 1954 from the rectal cuticle of a centipede (Chilopoda), but the description was not sufficient to determine if it was, in fact, a trichomycete. Lists of known arthropod hosts and their habitats are given in Appendix B. It must be stressed that these lists, as well as the discussion presented in this chapter, are based on current knowledge of the range of hosts, and will undoubtedly have to be modified as new discoveries are made. When one considers that the Arthropoda may represent more species than all other groups of living organisms combined, and that the trichomycete flora has been sought in relatively few parts of the world, it becomes evident that generalizations must be to some extent tentative.