Abstract:Tunga hexalobulata (Siphonaptera: Tungidae), new species oftungid sand flea belonging to the penetrans group, is described with illustrations of adult female parasitizing Bos indicus (L., 1758) from Brazil. It differs from the 12 other known species of Tunginae by the presence of six anterior humps in the neosome. It also can be differentiated from other species of the penetrans group by lesser size of the neosome, presence of three posterodorsally bristles in antennal segment II, and the extension of the post… Show more
“…Other species of Tunga exhibit the following preferential attachment sites on their respective hosts: T. caecata , upper surface of rat ears (Jordan 1962); T. travassosi , dermis of the ventral abdominal region of edentates (Lima 1943; Pinto 1930); T. terasma , ventral abdomen and toes of edentates (Antunes et al 2006); T. bondari , ventral abdomen of edentates (Wagner 1932); T. caecigena , at the edge of the pinna but also on the dorsal surface of rat ears and, in one case (only on a specimen of R. rattus ), at the base of the tail (Jordan 1962; Yang 1955); T. callida , rear end of the body, especially around the anus of rats (Li and Chin 1957); T. libis , ears of rodents (Beaucournu et al 2012a); T. monositus , basal portion of the upper surface of the pinna of rodents (Barnes and Radovsky 1969); T. bossii , base of the tail of wild rodents (De Avelar et al 2012); T. bonneti , parallel to the great axis of the tail of rodents (Beaucournu et al 2012a); and T. hexalobulata , coronary band of cattle (De Avelar et al 2013). Figure 3 shows sites of attachment for neosomes of some tungids on their hosts, including H. pulex .Fig.…”
Section: Sites Of Attachmentmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Whereas Neotunga is composed of only one valid species, Neotunga euloidea Smit, which parasitizes African pangolins (Lewis 1998), the genus Tunga includes 13 species of sand fleas (De Avelar et al 2013). Two Tunga species are found in China and Japan, and the other 11 occur in the New World tropics.…”
Tunga is the most specialized genus among the Siphonaptera because adult females penetrate into the skin of their hosts and, after mating and fertilization, undergo hypertrophy, forming an enlarged structure known as the neosome. In humans and other warm-blooded animals, neosomes cause tungiasis, which arises due to the action of opportunistic agents. Although its effects on humans and domestic animals are well described in the literature, little is known about the impact of tungiasis on wild animals. This review focuses on the morphology, taxonomy, geographical distribution, hosts, prevalence, sites of attachment, and impact of tungid neosomes on wild and domestic animals. Because neosomes are the most characteristic form of the genus Tunga and also the form most frequently found in hosts, they are here differentiated and illustrated to aid in the identification of the 13 currently known species. Perspectives for future studies regarding the possibility of discovering other sand flea species, adaptation to new hosts, and the transfer of tungids between hosts in natural and modified habitats are also presented.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00436-014-4081-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
“…Other species of Tunga exhibit the following preferential attachment sites on their respective hosts: T. caecata , upper surface of rat ears (Jordan 1962); T. travassosi , dermis of the ventral abdominal region of edentates (Lima 1943; Pinto 1930); T. terasma , ventral abdomen and toes of edentates (Antunes et al 2006); T. bondari , ventral abdomen of edentates (Wagner 1932); T. caecigena , at the edge of the pinna but also on the dorsal surface of rat ears and, in one case (only on a specimen of R. rattus ), at the base of the tail (Jordan 1962; Yang 1955); T. callida , rear end of the body, especially around the anus of rats (Li and Chin 1957); T. libis , ears of rodents (Beaucournu et al 2012a); T. monositus , basal portion of the upper surface of the pinna of rodents (Barnes and Radovsky 1969); T. bossii , base of the tail of wild rodents (De Avelar et al 2012); T. bonneti , parallel to the great axis of the tail of rodents (Beaucournu et al 2012a); and T. hexalobulata , coronary band of cattle (De Avelar et al 2013). Figure 3 shows sites of attachment for neosomes of some tungids on their hosts, including H. pulex .Fig.…”
Section: Sites Of Attachmentmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Whereas Neotunga is composed of only one valid species, Neotunga euloidea Smit, which parasitizes African pangolins (Lewis 1998), the genus Tunga includes 13 species of sand fleas (De Avelar et al 2013). Two Tunga species are found in China and Japan, and the other 11 occur in the New World tropics.…”
Tunga is the most specialized genus among the Siphonaptera because adult females penetrate into the skin of their hosts and, after mating and fertilization, undergo hypertrophy, forming an enlarged structure known as the neosome. In humans and other warm-blooded animals, neosomes cause tungiasis, which arises due to the action of opportunistic agents. Although its effects on humans and domestic animals are well described in the literature, little is known about the impact of tungiasis on wild animals. This review focuses on the morphology, taxonomy, geographical distribution, hosts, prevalence, sites of attachment, and impact of tungid neosomes on wild and domestic animals. Because neosomes are the most characteristic form of the genus Tunga and also the form most frequently found in hosts, they are here differentiated and illustrated to aid in the identification of the 13 currently known species. Perspectives for future studies regarding the possibility of discovering other sand flea species, adaptation to new hosts, and the transfer of tungids between hosts in natural and modified habitats are also presented.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00436-014-4081-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
“…3 Bovine tungiasis has been described in several South American countries with most reports originating from Brazil. 10,12 The disease in cattle can be produced by 3 species of Tunga (i.e., Tunga penetrans, Tunga trimamillata, and Tunga hexalobulata), 2,10 although T. penetrans is by far the most frequently reported species of Tunga associated with bovine tungiasis.…”
Section: Research-article2014mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…has been traditionally limited to morphological features alone. 2,12 The clinical and pathological changes produced by different species of Tunga spp. are very similar to each other, and determination of the species present cannot be achieved by these features alone.…”
Section: Research-article2014mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…2,10 Differentiation of the 3 species of Tunga that affect cattle based on morphology of the parasite alone is difficult and frequently inaccurate. The use of molecular methods in the current study proved to be a quick and efficacious method to identify Tunga at a species level.…”
Tunga penetrans is the smallest biting flea known. In cattle, infestation by T. penetrans (tungiasis) typically affects the skin of the distal legs, udder, prepuce, and perianal area. A detailed clinical and pathologic description of bovine tungiasis, together with electron microscopy and molecular diagnostics to establish the identity of the parasite are described. Ninety percent of the cows and heifers and 80% of the bulls in a herd in northwest Argentina had proliferative and ulcerative skin lesions affecting the coronary band, interdigital space, heels, and rudimentary toes of the fore and/or rear limbs, teats, and/or prepuce. These proliferative lesions had multiple large cavities filled with hemorrhagic fluid, necrotic debris, and Tunga spp. parasites. Histologically, the skin showed diffuse papillary epithelial hyperplasia with severe orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis, and it was multifocally ulcerated and inflamed. Multifocally, sections of arthropod parasites were observed embedded in the epidermis and dermis with the posterior end toward the surface. Images of wet mounts and scanning electron microscopy of the parasite showed morphologic characteristics compatible with Tunga spp. Polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II and the internal transcribed spacer region indicated 99% homology to published T. penetrans sequences. Tungiasis should be considered as a differential diagnosis for proliferative lesions in skin of cattle.
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