Abstract
Ticks are parasites of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, but information about tick communities that parasitize reptiles in the Neotropical region is still fragmentary. In the present study, we assessed the presence of ticks on broad-snouted caimans (Caiman latirostris) and Cuvier’s dwarf caimans (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) trapped in the Atlantic rainforest biome in Pernambuco state, north-eastern Brazil, to determine which tick species feed on these animals and how frequent or rare this parasite-wildlife association is. We also report an occasional finding of Amblyomma rotundatum on a smooth-fronted caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus) in the Amazon biome in Pará state, northern Brazil. Out of 490 animals trapped in the Atlantic rainforest biome, four (0.82%) broad-snouted caimans were infested by ticks. Ticks belonged to two Amblyomma species: A. rotundatum (three females) and A. fuscum (one male). Our findings indicate that ticks are infrequent parasites of caimans in the Atlantic rainforest biome. Tick infestation on broad-snouted caimans is probably of minor clinical significance and probably a casual finding due to habitat sharing with the common tick hosts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acosta ICL, Martins TF, Nóbrega YC, Mantovani TC, Silva-Soares T, Santos MRD, Tadokoro CE, Labruna MB (2019) First record of Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing wild Caiman latirostris (Reptilia: Crocodylidae) in the Atlantic rainforest biome, southeastern Brazil. Herpetol Notes 12:9–11
Barros-Battesti DM, Landulfo GA, Luz HR, Marcili A, Onofrio VC, Famadas KM (2015) Ornithodoros faccinii n. sp. (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae) parasitizing the frog Thoropa miliaris (Amphibia: Anura: Cycloramphidae) in Brazil. Parasit Vectors 8:268
Barros-Battesti DM, Onofrio VC, Labruna MB, Martins JR, Guglielmone AA (2005) Redescription of Amblyomma fuscum Neumann, 1907 (Acari: Ixodidae), a rare South America tick confirmed in Brazil. Syst Parasitol 61:85–92
Bayliss P (1987) Survey methods and monitoring within crocodile management programmes. In: Webb GJW, Manolis SC, Whitehead PJ (eds) Wildlife management: crocodiles and alligators. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 157–175
Blanco CM, Teixeira BR, da Silva AG, de Oliveira RC, Strecht L, Ogrzewalska M, de Lemos ERS (2017) Microorganisms in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected on marsupials and rodents from Santa Catarina, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul states, Brazil. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 8:90–98
Cunha MCAL, Farias AMI, Brito FL, Serra-Freire NM (1999) Ocorrência de Amblyomma fuscum Neumann, 1907 (Acari:Ixodidae) em Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 (Reptilia: Boidae) no estado de Pernambuco, Brasil. Entomol Vectores 6:577–579
Cunha MCAL, Farias AMI, Brito FLC, Serra-Freire NM (2003) Intensidade de parasitismo de Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) em serpentes da família Boidae capturadas no Parque dois Irmãos, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil. Entomol Vectores 10:21–29
Dantas-Torres F (2018) Species concepts: what about ticks? Trends Parasitol 34:1017–1026
Dantas-Torres F, Aléssio FM, Siqueira DB, Mauffrey JF, Marvulo MFV, Martins TF, Moraes-Filho J, Camargo MCGO, D’Auria SRN, Labruna MB, Silva JCR (2012a) Exposure of small mammals to ticks and rickettsiae in Atlantic Forest patches in the metropolitan area of Recife, North-eastern Brazil. Parasitology 139:83–91
Dantas-Torres F, Chomel BB, Otranto D (2012b) Ticks and tick-borne diseases: a one health perspective. Trends Parasitol 28:437–446
Dantas-Torres F, Ferreira DR, de Melo LM, Lima PA, Siqueira DB, Rameh-de-Albuquerque LC, de Melo AV, Ramos JA (2010a) Ticks on captive and free-living wild animals in northeastern Brazil. Exp Appl Acarol 50:181–189
Dantas-Torres F, Martins TF, Muñoz-Leal S, Onofrio VC, Barros-Battesti DM (2019) Ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae, Ixodidae) of Brazil: updated species checklist and taxonomic keys. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 10:101252
Dantas-Torres F, Oliveira-Filho EF, Soares FA, Souza BO, Valença RB, Sá FB (2008) Ticks infesting amphibians and reptiles in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 17:218–221
Dantas-Torres F, Siqueira DB, Rameh-de-Albuquerque LC, da Silva e Souza D, Zanotti AP, Ferreira DR, Martins TF, De Senna MB, Wagner PG, da Silva MA, Marvulo MF, Labruna MB (2010b) Ticks infesting wildlife species in northeastern Brazil with new host and locality records. J Med Entomol 47:1243–1246
Gianizella SL, Martins TF, Onofrio VC, Aguiar NO, Gravena W, do Nascimento CAR, Neto LC, Faria DL, Lima NAS, Solorio MR, Maranhão L, Lima IJ, Cobra IVD, Santos T, Lopes GP, Ramalho EE, Luz HR, Labruna MB (2018) Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of the state of Amazonas. Brazil Exp Appl Acarol 74:177–183
Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG, Apanaskevich DA, Petney TN, Estrada-Peña A, Horak IG (2014) The hard ticks of the world (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae). Springer, Dordrecht
Grigg G, Kirshner D (2015) Biology and evolution of crocodylians. Academic Press, Ithaca
Huchzermeyer FH (2003) Crocodiles: biology, husbandry and diseases. CABI Publishing, Wallingford
Jongejan F, Uilenberg G (2004) The global importance of ticks. Parasitology 129:S3–S14
Labruna MB, Camargo LMA, Terrassini FA, Ferreira F, Schumaker TTS, Camargo EP (2005) Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from the state of Rondônia, western Amazon, Brazil. Syst Appl Acarol 10:17–32
Luz HR, Bezerra BB, Flausino W, Marcili A, Muñoz-Leal S, Faccini JLH (2018) First record of Ornithodoros faccinii (Acari: Argasidae) on toads of genus Rhinella (Anura: Bufonidae) in Brazil. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 27:390–395
Martins TF, Dantas-Torres F, Nieri-Bastos FA, Marcili A, de Siqueira DB, Aléssio FM, Mauffrey J-F, Silva JCR, Labruna MB (2009) Host records for the immature stages of Amblyomma fuscum (Acari: Ixodidae), a South American tick species. Entomol News 120:370–374
Morais DH, Struessmann C, Carvalho VT, Kawashita-Ribeiro RA (2010) First record of Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing Paleosuchus palpebrosus Cuvier, 1807 (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), in the western border of Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Herpetol Notes 3:133
Muñoz-Leal S, Toledo LF, Venzal JM, Marcili A, Martins TF, Acosta ICL, Pinter A, Labruna MB (2017) Description of a new soft tick species (Acari: Argasidae: Ornithodoros) associated with stream-breeding frogs (Anura: Cycloramphidae: Cycloramphus) in Brazil. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 8:682–692
Pereira GR, Soares P, Gomes MQ, Viana LA, Manso PPA, Machado MP, Paiva F, Lourenço-de-Oliveira R (2014) Are fish paratenic natural hosts of the caiman haemoparasite Hepatozoon caimani? Parasitol Res 113:39–45
Santos EM, Botelho MCN, Oliveira JB (2002) Ectoparasitos de anfíbios anuros (Anura, Bufonidae) capturados na Estação Ecológica do Tapacurá, São Lourenço da Mata, Pernambuco, Brasil. Entomol Vectores 9:105–113
Torres AC, Minervino AHH, Santos Júnior AP, Sarturi C, Martins TF, Vale WG, Morini AC, Marcili A, Portela JM, Gennari SM (2018) Amblyomma ticks infesting amphibians and Squamata reptiles from the lower Amazon region, Brazil. Exp Appl Acarol 75:399–407
Velasco A, Ayarzagüena J (1995) Situación actual de las poblaciones de Baba (Caiman crocodilus) sometidas a aprovechamiento comercial en los llanos venezolanos. Publ Asoc Amigos Doñana 5:1–71
Viana LA, Soares P, Paiva F, Lourenço-de-Oliveira R (2010) Caiman-biting mosquitoes and the natural vectors of Hepatozoon caimani (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoidae). J Med Entomol 47:670–676
Viana LA, Winck GR, Almeida-Santos M, Telles FB, Gazêta GS, Rocha CF (2012) New host records for Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixodidae) from Grussaí restinga, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 21:319–322
Webb GJW, Manolis SC, Sack GC (1984) Cloacal sexing of hatchling crocodiles. Aust Wildl Res 11:201–202
Witter R, Martins TF, Campos AK, Melo ALT, Corrêa SHR, Morgado TO, Wolf RW, May-Júnior JA, Sinkoc AL, Strüssmann C, Aguiar DM, Rossi RV, Semedo TB, Campos Z, Desbiez AL, Labruna MB, Pacheco RC (2016) Rickettsial infection in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of wild animals in midwestern Brazil. Ticks Tick-Borne Dis 7:415–423
Zimmermann NP, Aguirre AAR, Rodrigues VDS, Garcia MV, Medeiros JF, Blecha IMZ, Duarte PO, Cruz BC, Cunha RC, Martins TF, Andreotti R (2018) Wildlife species, ixodid fauna and new host records for ticks in an Amazon forest area, Rondônia, Brazil. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 27:177–182
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Lucas C. de Sousa-Paula (Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Fiocruz, Brazil) for elaboration of Fig. 1. This study was supported by Fundação de Amparo a Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE; APQ 0245 − 2.04/15). FDT is the recipient of a research fellowship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; 313118/2018-3).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dantas-Torres, F., Mascarenhas-Junior, P.B., dos Anjos, H.R. et al. Tick infestation on caimans: a casual tick-host association in the Atlantic rainforest biome?. Exp Appl Acarol 79, 411–420 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00430-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00430-z