Abstract
The male of Ixodes abrocomae Lahille, 1916 (Acari: Ixodidae) is redescribed and the female described for the first time from specimens collected on the rodents Abrothrix longipilis (Waterhouse), A. olivaceous (Waterhouse) and Phyllotis xanthopygus (Waterhouse) at Coquimbo, Chile. The males of I. abrocomae are peculiar in having the combination of the following features: length and width less than 2 mm and 1 mm, respectively; hypostome notched with two rows of stout denticles and several small internal denticles; article II of the palpi with two conspicuous dorsal setae; coxa I with two subequal spurs; coxae II–IV with a single spur plus an indication of a second spur; and a scutum with long, scattered hairs except for the glabrous postero-median field which reaches to the marginal fold. The females of I. abrocomae are peculiar in possessing a combination of: a pointed hypostome, with a 3/3 dentition of flared denticles; a long, narrow scutum with few ‘hairs’ and with punctations which are especially numerous in the posterior region; a triangular basis capituli, with oval porose areas lacking definitive borders and separated by the width of one area, and a sinuous posterior margin with small cornuae; one spur on coxae I–IV; and conspicuous setae on the interno-dorsal face of palpal article II and the ventral face of article I. Sequences of 16S rDNA were identical for male and female I. abrocomae, but differ by 3.8% and 5.5% from sequences of their closest relatives, I. stilesi Neumann, 1911 and I. sigelos Keirans, Clifford & Corwin, 1976, respectively. Characters enabling the separation of I. abrocomae from Ixodes spp. distributed in the southwestern Neotropics are presented. Records of I. abrocomae in different climatic areas and on different, widely distributed rodent hosts indicate that this species may be present beyond its known Chilean territorial range (Regions III and IV).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boero, J. J. (1957). Las garrapatas de la República Argentina (Acarina: Ixodoidea). Buenos Aires: Departamento Editorial de la Universida de Buenos Aires, 113 pp.
Camicas, J.-L., Hervy, J. P., Adam, F., & Morel, P.C. (1998). Les tiques du monde. Nomenclature, stades décrits, hôtes, répartition (Acarida, Ixodida). Paris: Orstom, 233 pp.
Corwin, D., Clifford, C. M., & Keirans, J. E. (1979). An improved method for cleaning and preparing ticks for examination with the scanning electron microscope. Journal of Medical Entomology, 16, 352–353.
González-Acuña, D., Venzal, J. M., & Guglielmone, A. A. (2004). Nuevos hospedadores y localidades de Ixodes sigelos e Ixodes auritulus (Acari: Ixodidae) en Chile. Gayana, 68, 113–116.
Guglielmone, A. A., Venzal, J. M., Amico, G., Mangold, A. J., & Keirans, J. E. (2004). Description of the larva and redescription of the nymph and female of Ixodes neuquenensis Ringuelet, 1847 (Acari: Ixodidae), a parasite of the endangered species Dromiciops gliroides Thomas, 1847 (Microbiotheria: Microbiotheriidae). Systematic Parasitology, 57, 211–219.
Guglielmone, A. A., González-Acuña, D., Autino, A. G., Venzal, J. M., Nava, S., & Mangold, A. J. (2005). Ixodes sigelos Keirans, Clifford & Corwin, 1976 (Acari: Ixodidae) in Argentina and southern Chile. Systematic and Applied Acarology, 10, 37–40.
Guglielmone, A. A., Venzal, J. M., González-Acuña, D., Nava, S., Hinojosa, A., & Mangold, A. J. (2006). The phylogenetic position of Ixodes stilesi Neumann, 1911 (Acari: Ixodidae): morphological and preliminary molecular evidences from 16SrDNA sequences. Systematic Parasitology, 65, 1–11.
Guglielmone, A. A., Nava, S., González-Acuña, D., Mangold, A. J., & Robbins, R. G. (2007). Additional observations on the morphology and hosts of Ixodes stilesi Neumann, 1911 (Acari: Ixodidae). Systematic and Applied Acarology, 12, 135–139.
Guglielmone, A. A., Robbins, R. G., Apanaskevich, D. A., Petney, T. N., Estrada-Peña, A., & Horak, I. G. (2009). Comments on controversial tick (Acari: Ixodida) species names and species described or resurrected from 2003 to 2008. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 48, 311–327.
Horak, I. G., Camicas, J. L., & Keirans, J. E. (2002). The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae Acari: Ixodida): a world list of valid tick names. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 28, 27–54.
Iriarte, A. (2008). Mamíferos de Chile. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 420 pp.
Keirans, J. E., Clifford, C. M., & Corwin, D. (1976). Ixodes sigelos, n. sp. (Acarina: Ixodidae), a parasite of rodents in Chile, with a method for preparing ticks for examination by scanning electron microscopy. Acarologia, 18, 217–225.
Kohls, G. M. (1956). Eight new species of Ixodes from Central and South America (Acarina: Ixodidae). Journal of Parasitology, 42, 636–649.
Kohls, G. M. (1969). Ixodes taglei n. sp. (Acarina: Ixodidae) a parasite of the deer, Pudu pudu (Wol.), in Chile. Journal of Medical Entomology, 6, 280–283.
Lahille, F. (1916). Descripción de un nuevo ixódido chileno. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 20, 107–108.
Morel, P.-C., & Pérez, C. (1977). Morphologie des stases préimaginales des Ixodidae s. str. d’Europe occidentale IV. Généralite sur le sous-genre Ixodes (Ixodes). Acarologia, 19, 201–208.
Nowak, R. M. (1999). Walker’s mammals of the world. Volume II (Sixth Edition). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp.
Nuttall, G. H. F. (1916). Notes on ticks. IV. Relating to the genus Ixodes and including a description of three new species and two new varieties. Parasitology, 8, 294–337.
Osorio, G. (2001). Búsqueda de la espiroqueta Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato mediante PCR en garrapatas ixoideas (sic) chilenas silvestres. Revista Médica de Chile, 129, 270–276.
Redford, K. H., & Eisenberg, J. F. (1992). Mammals of the neotropics. The southern cone. Volume 2. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 435 pp.
Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. E. (2005). Mammals species of the world. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2142 pp.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to J.M. Venzal of the Facultad of Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de la República, Salto, Uruguay, for his collaboration with our study of the morphology of the hypostome of Ixodes longiscutuatus. We acknowledge the support of INTA, the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas and the Asociación Cooperadora Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela (all from Argentina) to AAG, SN and AJM, and the Fundación BBVA BIOCON06/109, FONDECYT-Chile 1090794 and the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity for grants (ICM-P05-002-Chile and PFB-23-CONICYT-Chile). We thank G. Soto, I. Lazzoni, C. Venegas, R. Pozo, I. Cotorás, C. Quilodran, D. Medina and R. Zúñiga for assistance in the field.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guglielmone, A.A., Nava, S., Bazán-León, E.A. et al. Redescription of the male and description of the female of Ixodes abrocomae Lahille, 1916 (Acari: Ixodidae). Syst Parasitol 77, 153–160 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-010-9262-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-010-9262-y