First record of Ornithodoros faccinii (Acari: Argasidae) on toads of genus Rhinella (Anura: Bufonidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Although a group of soft ticks (Argasidae) associated with amphibians was recently discovered in Brazilian rainforests, parasitism by these ticks on cold-blooded animals remains less common than on mammal and bird species. In this study, we identified ticks that were collected from toads that had been caught in December 2016 and January 2017, at Itinguçú waterfall (22°54'05" S; 43°53'30" W) in the municipality of Itaguaí, state of Rio de Janeiro. Tick specimens were identified using a morphological and molecular approach. In total, twelve larvae of Ornithodoros ticks were collected from three individuals of Rhinella ornata and were identified as Ornithodoros faccinii. Our results include a longer 16S rRNA mitochondrial sequence for O. faccinii that supports its phylogenetic relatedness to Ornithodoros saraivai, and we report this tick species parasitizing Rhinella toads for the first time in Brazil.

Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) ticks associated with a Rickettsia sp. in Pakistan

“…The family Argasidae comprises 218 species, of which approximately 133 have not been assigned accurately to genera [8,9]. Ornithodoros is the most diverse genus within the Argasidae, with approximately 130 known species [2,[10][11][12][13]. The phylogeny and taxonomy of argasid ticks are still controversial, and many species have been assigned to more than one genus [14].…”