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First records and a new tick-host association of the tick Ixodes acuminatus Neumann, 1901, in Slovakia

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Abstract

We herein report the first occurrence of the tick Ixodes acuminatus in the Slovak Republic. Twenty-four I. acuminatus males, seven females and five nymphs were collected in Mus spicilegus nests (Rodentia) from three localities in south-western Slovakia. We repeatedly confirmed ticks in a total of nine M. spicilegus nests in this area during two years (2007 and 2009). Until that time, I. acuminatus had not been a part of the Slovakian tick fauna. Ticks have not been confirmed in the nests of M. spicilegus in the eastern part of Slovakia, even during parasitological examinations of many specimens of this rodent species (391 individuals) in different parts of Slovakia.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted thanks to the project VEGA 2/0014/21 and KEGA 051PU-4/2021. The authors also thank Monika Onderová for technical assistance in the extraction of arthropods from nests, as well as to Dr. Ladislav Mošanský for help in the field. We thank Dr. M. Oros and Ing. M. Stanko for their help with photo preparation and Mr. D. McLean for the language correction.

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  1. Institute of Parasitology and Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, SK-04001, Košice, Slovakia

    Michal Stanko

  2. Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Prešov, 17. novembra 1, SK-080 01, Prešov, Slovakia

    Alexander Csanády

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  1. Michal Stanko
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Correspondence to Michal Stanko.

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Stanko, M., Csanády, A. First records and a new tick-host association of the tick Ixodes acuminatus Neumann, 1901, in Slovakia. Biologia 77, 2915–2920 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-022-01204-6

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