Amblyomma rhinocerotis
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Amblyomma rhinocerotis , show specimen in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano |
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| ( De Geer , 1778) |
Amblyomma rhinocerotis is a blood-sucking ectoparasite on the two African rhinos white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum ) and black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) . It is a very large tick and one of about 130 species of the genus Amblyomma in the family Schildzecken (Ixodidae).
features
The following information is based on a description by the parasitologists Olga V. Voltzit and James E. Keirans from 2003. The publication is much more detailed than the first description published in 1778, but is only based on the examination of one male and one female tick from the United States National Tick Collection , which come from cattle in Uganda . Larvae and nymphs have not yet been described.
Adult male ticks
The scutum of male ticks is broadly oval, with a length of 7.9 millimeters, measured from the tips of the scapulae on both sides of the capitulum to the rear edge of the body. The maximum width in the middle of the body is 6.75 millimeters. The capitulum measures 2.78 millimeters from the posterior edge to the tip of the palps and is 1.5 millimeters wide. The large scutum has a brown basic color and a pattern that consists of a large and several small metallic gold-colored spots on the abdomen and the festoons. At the rear edge of the body there are narrow, short festoons that have no sclerotized plates. The scutum is covered with numerous large and small pores. The two eyes are round, convex, and sit on the edges of the scutum. The ventral side has a genital opening between the coxes of the second and third pair of legs. The anal opening is about two thirds of the length of the body. The coxes of the first pair of legs have two spikes, the outer one is longer and almost reaches the coxes of the second pair of legs. The coxes of the second and third pair of legs have only a single, short, paddle-shaped spike, those of the fourth pair of legs have a single, very long spike that points towards the anus.
Adult female ticks
The idiosoma of the female is broadly oval, with a length of 10 millimeters, measured from the tips of the scapulae to the rear edge. The maximum width in the middle of the body is 8.25 millimeters. The capitulum is 3.2 millimeters long and 1.8 millimeters wide. The dark brown, symmetrical pentagonal scutum has a golden and pink shimmering light pattern that extends almost over its entire surface. It is 4.8 millimeters long and 5.55 millimeters wide and has numerous pores. There are narrow, short festoons at the rear edge of the body. The two eyes are round, convex, and sit on the edges of the scutum. The ventral side has a U-shaped genital opening between the coxes of the second and third pair of legs. The anal opening is about two thirds of the length of the body. The coxes of the first pair of legs have long round inner and outer spines, the outer one is longer and curved. The coxes of the second and third pair of legs have only a single short, broadly rounded thorn, those of the fourth pair of legs have a single long and rounded thorn.
Way of life and distribution
The main hosts of adult Amblyomma rhinocerotis are the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros . Boas and turtles are mentioned as occasional hosts; there are individual reports of finds of hippos , eland antelopes , pigs and cats . The larvae and nymphs have not yet been described and no information is available about their hosts. Amblyomma rhinocerotis occurs in Central, East and South Africa over the entire range of its two main hosts.
Carrier of piroplasms
Two piroplasms transmitted as a vector by ticks , Babesia bicornis and Theileria bicornis , can cause parasitosis in black rhinos with fatal outcome. The tick host has not yet been identified, but Amblyomma rhinocerotis and Dermacentor rhinocerinus have been suggested in the literature. It is considered likely that the two piroplasms would also die out with these ticks. A recent study from South Africa showed that more than 36 percent of the white rhinos examined were infected with Theileria bicornis and more than nine percent with Theileria equi . In white rhinos, however, the infections were asymptomatic. Babesiosis is of particular importance for rhinos that have been released into the wild, who were not confronted with the pathogens in their youth and can experience infections with severe disease processes in the wild.
Danger
The US Parasitologen Lance A. Durden and James E. Keiran lead Amblyomma rhinocerotis next Amblyomma Personatum , Cosmiomma hippopotamensis and Dermacentor rhinocerinus as one of those types of ticks, which exclusively or almost exclusively white rhino parasitize and black rhino. The tick populations decreased with those of their hosts. The existence of host-specific parasites is also endangered by the fact that trapped rhinos are routinely cleared of their parasites and treated with antiparasitics before they are released. Amblyomma rhinocerotis is less endangered than species-specific parasites of the black rhinoceros, such as Amblyomma personatum . The investigation of the tick fauna of both rhino species in southern Africa revealed evidence of Amblyomma rhinocerotis , but only with a maximum prevalence of 16.3 percent. In contrast, the prevalence of Amblyomma hebraicum infestation in both rhino species was up to 100 percent.
Systematics
External system
Amblyomma rhinocerotis ( De Geer , 1778) belongs with more than 700 species in 14 genera to the worldwide common family of ticks (Ixodidae). The genus Amblyomma comprises about 130 species that parasitize on mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
First description and history of taxonomy
The first description of Amblyomma rhinocerotis and Amblyomma sylvaticum as the first two South African tick species was given by Carl De Geer in the seventh volume of his Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des Insectes , published posthumously in 1778 . The today recognized combination Amblyomma rhinocerotis ( De Geer , 1778) was published in 1844 without further explanation by the German zoologist Carl Ludwig Koch in his work Systematic Overview of the Order of Ticks . Neither de Geer nor later editors specified types .
Synonymy
For Amblyomma rhinocerotis several synonyms have been published in the course of time, and at times there was no clarity about which species was referred to by the name because of the missing types and the similar specific epithet of Dermacentor rhinocerinus . The following names are considered synonyms, but there are also some misspellings:
- Acarus rhinocerotis de Geer , 1778
- Cynorhaestes rhinocerotis Hermann , 1804
- Ixodes rhinocerotis Fabricius , 1805
- Ixodes walckenaeri Gervais , 1842
- Amblyomma petersi Karsch , 1878
- Dermacentor rhinocerotis Neumann , 1897
- Amblyomma walckenaeri ( Gervais , 1844)
- Amblyomma foai Neumann , 1899
- Amblyomma aureum Neumann , 1899
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Olga V. Voltzit, James E. Keirans : A review of African Amblyomma species (Acari, Ixodida, Ixodidae) . In: Acarina . tape 11 , no. 2 , 2003, p. 135-214 , pp. 137, 190-192 ( core.ac.uk [accessed May 4, 2020]).
- ↑ a b c Andrei Daniel Mihalca, Călin Mircea Gherman, Vasile Cozma: Coendangered hard-ticks: threatened or threatening? In: Parasites & Vectors . tape 4 , 2011, 71, doi : 10.1186 / 1756-3305-4-71 .
- ↑ Barend L. Penzhorn, Rosina Claudia Krecek, Ivan G. Horak, Anna JM Verster, Jane B. Walker, Joop DF Boomker, SE Knapp, Sybille KF Quandt: Parasites of African rhinos: a documentation . In: Barend L. Penzhorn, NPJ Kriek (Ed.): Proceedings of a symposium on rhinos as game ranch animals, Onderstepoort, Republic of South Africa, September 9-10, 1994 . SAVA Wildlife Group, Onderstepoort 1994, ISBN 1-875088-11-3 , p. 168–175 ( rhinoresourcecenter.com [PDF; 411 kB ]).
- ^ A b Alberto A. Guglielmone , Richard G. Robbins , Dmitry A. Apanaskevich, Trevor N. Petney, Agustín Estrada-Peña, Ivan G. Horak: The Hard Ticks of the World (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) . Springer, Dordrecht 2014, ISBN 978-94-007-7496-4 , pp. 488-489 .
- ↑ Harry Hoogstraal : African Ixodoidea. I. Ticks of the Sudan (with special reference to Equatoria Province and with preliminary reviews of the genera Boophilus, Margaropus and Hyalomma) . US Navy, Washington, DC 1956, p. 248-252 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ a b Ivan G. Horak et al .: Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XLIX. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting white and black rhinoceroses in southern Africa . In: Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research . tape 84 , no. 1 , 2017, 1301, doi : 10.4102 / ojvr.v84i1.1301 .
- Jump up ↑ Ard M. Nijhof, Banie L. Penzhorn, Godelieve Lynen, Johnson O. Mollel, Pete Morkel, Cornelis PJ Bekker, Frans Jongejan: Babesia bicornis sp. nov. and Theileria bicornis sp. nov .: Tick-Borne Parasites Associated with Mortality in the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) . In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology . tape 41 , no. 5 , 2003, p. 2249-2254 , doi : 10.1128 / JCM.41.5.2249-2254.2003 .
- ^ Banie L. Penzhorn: Babesiosis of wild carnivores and ungulates . In: Veterinary Parasitology . tape 138 , no. 1-2 , 2006, pp. 11–21 , doi : 10.1016 / j.vetpar.2006.01.036 .
- ↑ Lance A. Durden , James E. Keirans : Host – Parasite Coextinction and the Plight of Tick Conservation . In: American Entomologist . tape 42 , no. 2 , 1996, p. 87-91 , doi : 10.1093 / ae / 42.2.87 .
- ^ A b Carl de Geer : Second mémoire. Of the mittes et des faucheurs . In: Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des Insectes . Tomé 7. Pierre Hesselberg, Stockholm 1778, p. 83-175 , pp. 160-161, plate 38, fig. 5-6 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Jane B. Walker : A review of the ixodid ticks (Acari, Ixodidae) occurring in Southern Africa . In: Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research . tape 58 , 1991, pp. 81-105 ( up.ac.za [PDF; 2.9 MB ]).
- ↑ Carl Ludwig Koch : Systematic overview of the order of ticks . In: Archives for Natural History . tape 10 , 1844, pp. 217-239 ( digitized version ).
- ^ Johann Christian Fabricius : Systema antliatorum. Secundum ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus . Carolum Reichard, Braunschweig 1805, p. 351 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Wilhelm Peters : Mr. W. Peters submitted: Overview of the arachnids he collected in Mossambique, edited by Dr. F. Karsch, assistant at the Zoological Museum . In: Monthly reports of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin . 1878, p. 314-338, panels I-II , 336-337, panel I, Fig. 4 ( digitized ).
- ^ Louis Georges Neumann: Revision de la famille des Ixodidés. 2nd memoire . In: Mémoires de la Société zoologique de France . tape 10 , 1897, p. 324-420 , 370-374 ( digitized ).
- ^ A b c Louis Georges Neumann : Revision de la famille des Ixodidés. 3rd memoire . In: Mémoires de la Société zoologique de France . tape 12 , 1899, pp. 107-294 , 254-255, 262-263 ( digital copy ).