Does the African native host explain the African origin of the parasite? The Maltese Geckobia estherae n. sp. parasitic on Tarentola mauritanica (Acari: Raphignathoidea: Pterygosomatidae)

A. Sciberras,M. Bertrand,W.P. Pfliegler

doi:10.1051/acarologia/20122073

Abstract

As in other geographic situations, Maltese populations of the common Mediterranean wall gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, were found to be simultaneously infested by two species of geckobians, Geckobia loricata and Geckobia estherae n.sp.. The latter species exhibits modified scale-like setae. The geckobians, protected ventrally by such scale-like setae, are widely distributed: in and around the Mediterranean Basin, these species were described notably on Phyllodactylidae (Tarentola). Most of them belong to the group I defined by Jack (1964) considering the leg chaetotaxy. The distribution of geckobians allied to the new species is discussed and correlated to the most recent knowledge on the genus Tarentola. The host being primarily African, the possible African origin and the dispersion by wall geckoes of these geckobians is discussed. As far as we know, such scaly species are not present in South or North America. The acquisition of this adaptation should therefore date from the early Cenozoic. The authors conclude that new investigations are necessary to examine this hypothesis on the Mediterranean gekkotans. Three identification keys are provided, a general key for the genera, one improved key for the identification of the groups of species of the geckobians, and the third for the described species with scale like setae.

Highlights

With few exceptions, the Pterygosomatidae are specialist parasites of reptiles
If the most primitive genera are not greatly modified by the parasitic way of life (Pimeliaphilus, Hirstiella and Geckobiella), the others have integrated the constraints of life on a type of host and are highly specialized: the diverse Geckoes are targeted by the genus Geckobia, the Agamidae by Pterygosoma spp
The Linnaean species "Tarentola mauritanica" can be regarded as a complex of species and subspecies with an African origin (Harris et al 2004, Jirku et al 2010); the parasitic geckobians have been described several decades ago, and by tradition, the two species collected on it are identified as Geckobia latastei Mégnin, 1878 and G. loricata Berlese, 1892 (Haitlinger 2004, Willmann 1955)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

"Delineating species boundaries is crucial because it is the first step toward discussing broader questions on biogeography, ecology, conservation, or evolution. The phylogenetic classification of Gekkotans integrated new analysis and discriminates the Phyllodactylidae (i.e. genera Tarentola, Phyllodactylus) from the Gekkonidae (Gamble et al 2008a, 2010). The collect of the new species in Malta is an original data It permitted to verify: (i) that two geckobian species are hosted, by Tarentola mauritanica in different part of its distribution, (ii) that the two species, as in other situations, differ greatly each other, (notably by presence or absence of special shaped ventral hairs), and (iii) to interrogate on the correspondence of endemic hosts and the consequences for parasites around the Mediterranean Basin. Ii) Can we reckon that the presence of highly modified ventral setae reveals a possible common origin of the Geckobians exhibiting this character, at least among the species parasitizing the host Tarentola spp.?

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Discussion on the diagnosis

Findings

DISCUSSION