Ixodid Tick Vectors of Wild Mammals and Reptiles of Southern India

Abstract

Background: We aimed to focus on the ixodid ticks parasitizing wild mammals and reptiles from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghat, southern India.
 Methods: The taxonomic identification of ticks collected from wild mammals and reptiles was performed based on the morphology of adults.
 Results: We revealed eight species of ticks including, Amblyomma integrum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Haemaphysalis (Kaiseriana) spinigera, H. (K.) shimoga, H. (K.) bispinosa, H. (Rhipistoma) indica, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides and R. sanguineus s.l. collected from nine species of wild mammals while four tick species Ablyomma kraneveldi, A. pattoni, A. gervaisi and A. javanense parasitizing on four species of reptiles. The highest host rich­ness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphysaloides parasitizing six and five different host species, re­spectively. Reports of R. (B.) annulatus on sambar deer, A. javanense and A. kraneveldi on python as well as A. pat­toni on Indian rat snake are the new host records from this region.
 Conclusion: Eight species of ticks parasitizing on nine species of wild mammals and four species of parasitizing on four species of reptiles were identified. The highest host richness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphy­saloides. H. spinigera as the vector of KFD was also identified in this study.

Exploration of Multi-Gene DNA Barcode Markers to Reveal the Broad Genetic Diversity of Field Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in a Tropical Environment of Hainan Island, China

“…Lyme disease, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever are infectious diseases transmitted by ticks [Ajith Kumar et al, 2018;Negi et al, 2021]. Ticks seriously threaten animal husbandry and human health.…”

Effect of Testosterone on Antler Growth in Male Sambar Deer (Rusaunicolor unicolor) in Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka

“…Sambar ( Rusa unicolor )is the most widely spread deer in Asian continent (Chang et al, 2018; Chellappandian et al, 2014; Forsyth et al, 2014; Li, Ba, & Yang, 2016; Lin, Pei, Wang, & Liu, 2014; Oria et al, 2015; Radhakrishnan et al, 2012; Somma, Moura, Lange, Medeiros, & Montiani-Ferreira, 2016),that range from Sri Lanka(Rajapaksha, Thilakaratne, Chandrasiri, & Niroshan, 2002), India(Ajith Kumar et al, 2018; Pothana, Devi, & Goel, 2017), Southern Nepal(Thapa & Kelly, 2017), Burma(Gupta et al, 2018),throughout Southern China (Lin et al, 2014) and in South-Eastern Asia to the Pacific Coast and the islands of Borneo and Hainan (Ajith Kumar et al, 2018; Bhattacharjee & Franzmann, 1986; Brodie et al, 2015; Brodie, Helmy, Brockelman, & Maron, 2009; Hoogstraal & Wassef, 1982; Ismail & Jiwan, 2015; Jerrett, Slee, & Robertson, 1990). For the family Cervidae, most of the knowledge on reproductive biology has been originated from studies of temperate species that exhibit a distinct seasonal cycle of reproductive behavior and antler growth in males (Bhattacharjee & Franzmann, 1986; Chan, Tsai, Chen, Tung, & Chang, 2009; Lin et al, 2014; Muir et al, 1997; Vongpralub et al, 2015).…”