Description of a new tick species, Ixodes collaris n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae), from bats (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae, Rhinolophidae) in Vietnam

Abstract

BackgroundIn a recent study on ixodid bat ticks from Eurasia, a high genetic difference was found between Ixodes vespertilionis from Europe and Vietnam. Accordingly, it was proposed that I. vespertilionis is a species complex, with at least one additional, hitherto undescribed species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the morphology of bat ticks from Vietnam and to assess their taxonomic status in comparison with those collected in Europe.FindingsIxodid bat ticks (two females and two nymphs) collected from the pomona leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros pomona) (Hipposideridae) and intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) (Rhinolophidae) in Vietnam showed major morphological differences from European isolates of I. vespertilionis, including the shape of the scutum, the enclosure and shape of porose areas, the presence of a caudo-lateral collar-like ridge ventrally on the basis capituli, polytrich coxae with short setae, and grouped (non-linear) arrangement of anterior pit sensillae in Haller’s organ.ConclusionsIn this study the female and the nymph of an ixodid bat tick species from Vietnam are described for the first time. The genetic and morphological differences between I. vespertilionis Koch, 1844 and these bat ticks from Vietnam justify the status of the latter as a distinct species, Ixodes collaris Hornok n. sp.

Description of the male and the larva of Ixodes collaris Hornok, 2016 with drawings of all stages

“…With the morphological characters, high resolution pictures and drawings provided in the present study, descriptions of all stages of I. collaris are now complete. Adding to already reported genetic differences between I. vespertilionis , I. collaris , I. ariadnae and I. simplex [ 1 ], these ixodid bat tick species show different morphology in all stages, as shown formerly for females and nymphs [ 2 ] and here for males and larvae.…”

“…Accordingly, I. collaris Hornok, 2016, has been described, based on material from the intermediate horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus affinis ) in Vietnam. However, the description of this new species was based only on the female and the nymph [ 2 ], because at that time male bat ticks were not seen on cave walls and larvae could not be collected from the only known host species.…”

Can Bats Serve as Reservoirs for Arboviruses?

“…While neither live virus nor nucleic acid of CCHFV has been detected from bats, serologic evidence suggests past infection of populations of bats across a diverse geographic range [15,16,17]. Further, bats are often parasitized by both soft and hard ticks, which occupy a diverse range of ecological niches in endemic countries [18,19,20]. A 2016 seroprevalance study by Müller and colleagues examining 16 African bat species ( n = 1,135) found that the prevalence of antibodies against CCHFV was much higher in cave-dwelling bats (3.6%–42.9%, depending on species) than foliage-living bats (0.6%–7.1%) [15].…”

“…A number of hematophagous arthropods feed on bats, including bat flies (genera Nycteribiidae and Streblidae ), bat bugs and bed bugs (family Cimicidae ), and ticks (families Argasidae and Ixodidae ) [18,20,21,167,168,169,170,171,172]. Viruses of medical and veterinary significance have also been isolated from these arthropods [21,173,174,175].…”

Evaluation of In Vitro Antibacterial Potential of Bacillus pseudomycoides Strain SB138

“…According to recent studies ticks fauna comprised of 939 species segregated into three families Ixodidae (727 species), Nuttalliellidae (1 species) and Argasidae (211 species) worldwide. Neotropical region approximately contain one fourth of these ticks species (Labruna et al 2016;Hornok et al, 2016;Apanaskevich and Bermúdez, 2017;Ash et al, 2017;Nava et al, 2017;Chitimia-Dobler et al, 2017). In tropical regions the most significant hard ticks which parasitize livestock belong to genera Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus (Manan and Zabita-Khan, 2007).…”