A new species of soft tick from dry tropical forests of Brazilian Caatinga

Author(s)

Munoz-Leal, Sebastian ^{[1, 2]} ; Venzal, Jose M. ^[3] ; Jorge, Felipe R. ^[4] ; Teixeira, Bruno M. ^[5] ; Labruna, Marcelo B. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Med Vet Prevent & Saude Anim, Fac Med Vet & Zootecnia, Av Prof Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Univ, BR-05508270 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Concepcion, Fac Ciencias Vet, Dept Patol & Med Prevent, Av Vicente Mendez 595, Casilla 537, Chillan, Nuble - Chile

^[3] Univ Republ, Lab Vectores & Enfermedades Transmitidas, Dept Ciencias Biol, CENUR Litoral Norte Salto, Rivera 1350, Salto 50000 - Uruguay

^[4] Univ Estadual Ceara, Programa Pos Grad Ciencias Vet PPGCV, MINTER, Ctr Univ INTA UNINTA, UECE, Av Dr Silas Munguba 1700, BR-60714903 Fortaleza, Ceara - Brazil

^[5] Ctr Univ INTA UNINTA, Curso Med Vet Mestrado Biotecnol, Nucleo Estudos & Pesquisas Anim Silvestres NEPAS, R Antonio Rodrigues Magalhaes 359, BR-62050100 Sobral, CE - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES; v. 12, n. 5 SEP 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Ornithodoros tabajara n. sp. is described from laboratory-reared larvae and adult specimens collected in the Brazilian Caatinga. This new species shares the ecological niche with Ornithodoros rietcorreai and is likely associated with colonial rodents of genus Kerodon. However, O. tabajara n. sp. is morphologically easy to distinguish from O. rietcorreai and other Neotropical Ornithodoros by a unique combination of characters: larva with 17 pairs of dorsal setae (seven anterolateral, three central and seven posterolateral), sub-oval dorsal plate, hypostome blunt apically with dentition formula 2/2 along its extension, only one pair of posthypostomal setae, six pairs of sternal setae, posteromedian setae absent, and leave-shaped anal valves; alive adults with whitish islands of mammillae symmetrically distributed on dorsum (not visible in ethanol-preserved specimens), and median disk merging with posteromedian file. A phylogenetic analysis performed with mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences points O. tabajara n. sp. as O. rietcorreai's sister taxon, which rises the hypothesis of sympatric speciation. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/02521-1 - Study on tick relapsing fever group spirochetes (Spirochaetaceae: Borrelia) on ticks of genus Ornithodoros (Acari: Argasidae) parasitizing humans in Brazil
• Grantee: Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/17960-3 - Advanced culture techniques, next generation sequencing, and immunoblot applied to the study of a Brazilian relapsing fever spirochete
• Grantee: Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor