Genetic Diversity of Ixodid Ticks Parasitizing Eastern Mouse and Dwarf Lemurs in Madagascar, with Descriptions of the Larva, Nymph, and Male ofIxodes lemuris(Acari: Ixodidae)

Abstract

The ixodid ticks parasitizing small-bodied nocturnal mouse and dwarf lemurs (Primates, Cheirogaleidae) in Madagascar are poorly documented. At Tsinjoarivo, a high-altitude eastern rain forest, mouse and dwarf lemurs were parasitized by ixodid ticks. At Ranomafana, a montane southeastern rain forest, dwarf lemurs hosted a species of Ixodes, whereas mouse lemurs were parasitized by Haemaphysalis lemuris. Ixodes specimens represent all active stages, and females are morphologically consistent with previous descriptions of Ixodes lemuris females, the only described stage in the literature. Morphological comparisons and genetic analysis using fragments of COI gene confirm that all Ixodes ticks from Tsinjoarivo and Ranomafana forests belong to the same species, i.e., Ixodes lemuris. Thus, we are able to provide descriptions of the previously unknown larva, nymph, and male. Mouse lemurs at both locations were parasitized only by immature stages of I. lemuris (at Tsinjoarivo) or H. lemuris (at Ranomafana), whereas dwarf lemurs were parasitized by all stages of I. lemuris. We suggest that ecological and biogeographical conditions may affect the pattern of tick infestation at Tsinjoarivo and Ranomafana. Additional studies are necessary to understand the tick-host associations of small-bodied nocturnal lemurs.

Ectoparasite communities of small-bodied Malagasy primates: seasonal and socioecological influences on tick, mite and lice infestation of Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis in northwestern Madagascar

“…The original descriptions of H. elongata and H. simplex [ 64 ], H. obtusa [ 65 ] and H. hoodi madagascariensis [ 66 ] were complemented by the description of nine new species ( H. anoplos , H. eupleres , H. fossae , H. lemuris , H. nesomys , H. simplicima , H. subelongata , H. theilerae and H. tiptoni ) [ 39 – 43 ]. More recent studies [ 20 – 22 , 67 ] identified collected tick specimens based on these descriptions and complementary cox 1 gene sequences were generated for H. lemuris by Blanco et al [ 68 ]. Assuming a correct classification in this previous study, our collected tick specimens showed distinct genetic differences (only 85% nucleotide identity with published H. lemuris sequences obtained from a M. rufus host), even though morphological characteristics visualized by light microscopy resembled the description of H. lemuris .…”

Molecular-phylogenetic analyses of Ixodes species from South Africa suggest an African origin of bird-associated exophilic ticks (subgenus Trichotoixodes)

“…In other words, only a few African Ixodes species had available sequences in GenBank, especially from the subgenus Afrixodes (i.e. Ixodes pilosus , I. bakeri , I. fynbosensis : [ 7 ]; I. aulacodi : [ 41 ], I. lemuris : [ 31 ]). The complete mitogenome is also available for a few species (e.g.…”

“…Sequences from other studies (retrieved from GenBank) included in the phylogenetic analyses had nearly or exactly 100% coverage with sequences from this study. Therefore, although very few sequences of Afrixodes were previously deposited in GenBank, some of them had to be excluded because of their shortness ( Ixodes lemuris : JX470176 [ 31 ]; I. corwini : AF113926 [ 32 ]). In addition, unpublished sequences of two Ixodes samples used in a previous study ([ 33 ]: I. ricinus , I. trianguliceps ) were included to improve the phylogeny of Ixodes subgenera that are not present in South Africa.…”

Seasonal variation in the abundance and distribution of ticks that parasitize Microcebus griseorufus at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

“…In fact, mouse lemurs are parasitized by multiple species of ticks. These small primates primarily present immature tick stages ( Durden et al., 2010 , Rodriguez et al., 2012 , Blanco et al., 2013 ) and likely serve as maintenance hosts to various three-host tick species, including Haemaphysalis lemuris , Ixodes lemuris ( Blanco et al., 2013 ), and other Haemaphysalis spp. ( Durden et al., 2010 , Rodriguez et al., 2012 ).…”