Bat Ticks of the Genus Argas (Ixodoidea: Argasidae). A. (Carios) macrodermae, New Species, from Queensland, Australia1,2

Abstract

Argas (Carios) macrodermae , n. sp., is described from a female, a male, 63 nymphs, and 36 larvae from a large cave complex inhabited by the ghost bat, or false vampire, Macroderma gigas Dobson, near Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. Some of the larvae were removed from wing and tail membranes of these bats. The other specimens were taken climbing on cave walls, from guano or boulders on the cave floor, or in a specially devised tick trap at least 14 m below the high ceilings where the bats roosted. This tick, which probably shelters in crevices near the host's ceiling roosts, is exceptionally difficult to find in the multichambered cave complex. Specimens taken on or near the apparently unfavorable environment of the cave floor, mostly partially fed nymphs, were probably dislodged during the sudden, unexpected flight of the excessively wary ghost bat when disturbed by humans entering the caves. A. (C.) macrodermae is a distinctive, very large tick with long, spiderlike legs and numerous setae on the body and legs. It is the 6th species described in the Argas subgenus Carios and the 4th member of Carios known from Australia.