“…Although several studies have investigated the ecology and negative effects that external parasites can have on penguins, most studies focused on hard ticks (Ixodidae) (Gauthier-Clerc et al ., 1998, 2003; Frenot et al ., 2001; Benoit et al ., 2007, 2009; Jansen van Rensburg, 2010; Barbosa et al ., 2011), and few have investigated the factors driving the ecology and health effects of soft ticks (Argasidae), fleas (Siphonapthera) and lice (Phthiraptera) on penguins (Duffy and Daturi, 1987; González-Acuña et al ., 2013; Espinaze et al ., 2019). Three species of external parasites are known to infect wild African penguins: the fleas Parapsyllus longicornis humboldti and Echidnophaga gallinacea , the soft tick Ornithodoros capensis and the chewing louse Austrogoniodes demersus (Von Keler, 1952; Zumpt, 1959; Beaucournu and Rodhain, 1990; Espinaze et al ., 2019). The tick O. capensis is suspected to transmit blood parasites to African penguins, such as the piroplasmid protozoan Babesia peircei (Earlé et al ., 1993), the spirochete bacterium Borrelia sp.…”