Ectoparasites Associated with Neotropical Turtles of the Genus Callopsis (Testudines, Emydidae, Batagurinae)

Abstract

Four species of Ambylomma ticks and a Placobdella leech were found in association with the turtle genus Callopsis. New host records are listed. Differences between attachment sites of the various tick life stages exist, and the ecological significance of these are discussed. LITTLE IS KNOWN of the ectoparasites of tropical turtles, and most available literature consists only of lists of parasites and their hosts. In 1973 the senior author began a systematic review of the neotropical emydid turtle genus Callopsis Gray.1 Many of the turtles examined still had ticks, and in one case a leech attached, which presented an opportunity to study the relationships between these parasites and their turtle hosts. The position of the parasites on the turtle and any apparent damage was noted. The parasites were removed, identified, and, in the case of ticks, sexed and staged. A list, with locality data, of ticks collected from each species of Callopsis is given in table 1. Most of the ticks have been deposited in the U.S. Public Health Service's Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML 66172-66232), but some were returned to the herpetology departments of the Florida State Museum and Carnegie Museum. The leech was retained by the authors.