Hosts and distribution of Amblyomma auricularium and Amblyomma pseudoconcolor Aragão, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae)

Abstract

Collections of Amblyomma auricularium (Conil 1878) and A. pseudoconcolor Aragão, 1908 are discussed in relation to distribution and hosts. Three tick collections (two from Argentina and a third from the USA) house a total of 574 A. auricularium (307 males, 162 females, 73 nymphs and 32 larvae) and 179 A. pseudoconcolor (96 males, 74 females, 4 nymphs and 5 larvae). Apart from an adult A. pseudoconcolor found on a bird, Nothura maculosa Temminck, 1815, all ticks were found on mammals. The great majority of specimens of both ticks species were removed from the family Dasypodidae Gray, 1821 (84.9% and 93.8% of A. auricularium and A. pseudoconcolor, respectively). Amblyomma auricularium has also been found on wild hosts of the families Myrmecophagidae and occasionally Didelphidae, Caviidae, Chinchillidae, Hydrochaeridae, Muridae, Canidae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae and domestic animals (cattle, dogs, horses), while A. pseudoconcolor has also been found occasionally on wild hosts of the family Didelphidae and on domestic animals (cattle, dogs). Amblyomma pseudoconcolor appears to be restricted to the Neotropical region, covering northern Argentina and the eastern region of South America from Uruguay to Surinam, including south-eastern Paraguay, eastern Brazil and French Guiana. Amblyomma auricularium is distributed from northern Patagonia in Argentina throughout the Neotropics into the Nearctic region up to the southern USA (Texas, Florida), with collection localities also in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. It is not known whether A. auricularium is an established resident of the USA.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) as ectoparasites of Brazilian wild birds and their association with rickettsial diseases

“…Only a few host records have been reported for the immature stages (larvae and nymphs) of A. aureolatum, including wild birds in southern Brazil GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003;OGRZEWALSKA et al, 2012a;PACHECO et al, 2012), Uruguay (VENZAL et al, 2005), Paraguay , and a few rodent species from families Echimyidae, Ctenomyidae, and Bradypodidae (GUGLIEMONE et al, 2003; GUGLIELMONE et al, 2014). Within its distribution area, all parasitic stages of A.…”

Amblyomma auricularium (Acari: Ixodidae): underwater survival of the non-parasitic phase of feeding females

“…Amblyomma auricularium (Conil, 1878) is a tick species widely dispersed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions (LORD; DAY, 2000;GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003;NAVA, 2006;NAVA et al, 2007;BERMÚDEZ et al, 2010;GUZMÁN-CORNEJO et al, 2011). The hosts listed for this species include pigs, rodents, marsupials, and carnivores (ALLAN et al, 2001;GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003;DANTAS-TORRES et al, 2010).…”

“…The hosts listed for this species include pigs, rodents, marsupials, and carnivores (ALLAN et al, 2001;GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003;DANTAS-TORRES et al, 2010). There are few records of A. auricularium adults in domestic animals such as cattle, horses, and dogs, and according to Guglielmone et al (2003), these hosts can be considered accidental. Saraiva et al (2013) recently isolated Rickettsia amblyommii in a female of A. auricularium, and found transstadial and transovarial transmission in the laboratory.…”

“…Species of Dasypodidae, known as armadillos, seem to be the tick's preferred hosts (EVANS et al, 2000;VENZAL et al, 2002;GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003;NAVA, 2006;OLEGÁRIO et al, 2006;SZABÓ et al, 2007;BERMÚDEZ et al, 2010). Among them, the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, (Linnaeus, 1758), is the one most commonly recorded (GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003).…”

“…Among them, the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, (Linnaeus, 1758), is the one most commonly recorded (GUGLIELMONE et al, 2003).…”