Haemaphysalis japonica, Haemaphysalis jezoensis and ^|^#8220;Haemaphysalis douglasi^|^#8221; (Acari: Ixodidae): Which tick is distributed in Hokkaido?

Abstract

As a general view, the ixodid tick Haemaphysalis japonica is distributed in Japan (Kyushu, Honshu and Hokkaido islands) and in a continental area including Russia Primorsky Krai, eastern China and the Korean Peninsula. The continental population is treated as a subspecies, Haemaphysalis japonica douglasi. The Hokkaido population was once named Haemaphysalis jezoensis, but synonymized with H. japonica. An irregular taxonomic revision, however, elevated H. japonica douglasi to specific rank for the continental and Hokkaido populations. The resultant "Haemaphysalis douglasi" sensu Kitaoka is obviously invalid because of the lack of taxonomic literatures about its specific status. Even in the present time, the invalid name has yet been used for tick identification in Hokkaido. In this study, nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA (large subunit ribosomal RNA gene) and nuclear DNA (internal transcribed spacer 2) were compared between adult samples of H. japonica from Honshu and those of "H. douglasi" from Hokkaido. The target sequences of the Hokkaido samples were completely identical with those of the Honshu samples, indicating that the elevation of H. japonica douglasi to specific rank or the resurrection of H. jezoensis is an inadequate treatment. The result clearly shows that H. japonica is distributed in Hokkaido.

Unraveling the phylogenetics of genetically closely related species, Haemaphysalis japonica and Haemaphysalis megaspinosa, using entire tick mitogenomes and microbiomes

“…Our research stands out as we employed whole mitogenomes of multiple individuals from each tick species to investigate the genetic diversity on a regional scale in Japan. In contrast to earlier studies that struggled to molecularly differentiate H. japonica and H. megaspinosa or classify H. japonica subspecies in the country 13 , 20 , we successfully analyzed the nucleotide variations in the complete mitogenomes between H. japonica and H. megaspinosa . Additionally, we examined the intraspecies genetic relationships and population differentiation among H. japonica subspecies.…”

“…However, H. jezoensis was suggested to be morphologically identical to H. japonica douglasi from China and Russia and collectively named as Haemaphysalis douglasi without taxonomic descriptions 19 . Most recently, H. douglasi from Hokkaido and H. japonica from Honshu Islands were suggested to be the same species based on comparing the partial sequences of the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2 20 .…”

Molecular Survey and Genetic Characterization of Hard Ticks from Chongming Island of Shanghai, China, Based on Mitochondrial Genome Fragments

“…longicornis and Ha. hystricis belong to the same group of Kaiseriana subgenus [39,40]. Within the rst phylogroup based on the 12S rRNA gene, the Chongming longicornis ticks identi ed in this study were closely related to those from Hebei Province (MK439888) and Guangdong Province (MW642389).…”

Hard ticks as research resources for vector biology: from genome to whole-body level

“…In Japan, at least 43 hard tick species are recorded so far (Fujita and Takada, 2007;Nakao and Ito, 2014;Yamaguti et al, 1971;Yamauchi and Takada, 2015). Among them, successful establishment and maintenance have been previously reported for the following species (Levin and Schumacher, 2016): A. testudinarium Koch, 1844, H. campanulata Warburton, 1908, H. concinna Koch, 1844, H. cornigera Neumann, 1897, H. ava Neumann, 1897, H. formosensis Neumann, 1913, H. hystricis Supino, 1897, H. kitaokai Hoogstraal, 1969, H. longicornis, H. mageshimaensis Saito & Hoogstraal, 1973, H. pentalagi Pospelova-Shtrom, 1935, H. yeni Toumanoff, 1944 microplus, R. sanguineus (Fujisaki et al, 1976), H. megaspinosa Saito, 1969(Fujisaki et al, 1976Saito, 1969), I. persulcatus (Fujimoto, 1993;Fujisaki et al, 1976;Konnai et al, 2008) and I. ovatus Neumann, 1899 (Fujimoto, 1989(Fujimoto, , 1990(Fujimoto, , 1994Fujisaki et al, 1976).…”