Abstract
Two hundred and seventy-three elephant shrews, consisting of 193 Elephantulus myurus, 67 Elephantulus edwardii and 13 animals belonging to other species, were examined for ixodid ticks at 18 localities in South Africa and Namibia. The immature stages of Ixodes rubicundus, Rhipicentor nuttalli, Rhipicephalus warburtoni and a Rhipicephalus pravus-like tick were the most numerous of the 18 tick species recovered. Substantial numbers of immature Rhipicephalus arnoldi, Rhipicephalus distinctus and Rhipicephalus exophthalmos were also collected from elephant shrews at particular localities. Larvae of I. rubicundus were most numerous on E. myurus in Free State Province from April to July and nymphs from June to October. Larvae of R. nuttalli were most numerous on these animals during April, May, August and September, and nymphs in February and from April to August. The immature stages of R. warburtoni were collected from E. myurus only in Free State Province, and larvae were generally most numerous from December to August and nymphs from April to October.
Highlights
The ixodid ticks that infest elephant shrews in southern Africa have been recorded by Theiler (1962), who listed 14 species, and reviewed by Fourie, Du Toit, Kok & Horak (1995), who list 22 species
Accepted for publication 14 June 2005—Editor than purely academic interest in that rock elephant shrews, Elephantulus myurus, are the preferred hosts of the immature stages of three ticks capable of inducing paralysis in domestic animals (Fourie, Horak & Van Den Heever 1992a; Fourie, Horak, Kok & Van Zyl 2002). These ticks are Ixodes rubicundus, responsible for massive annual mortality amongst sheep (Spickett & Heyne 1988), Rhipicentor nuttalli that can cause paralysis in dogs (Perchman 1976; Norval & Colborne 1985), and Rhipicephalus warburtoni that has been incriminated in paralysis in goat kids (Fourie, Horak & Marais 1988a)
The hosts of the immature and adult stages of I. rubicundus have been recorded by Stampa (1959) and Horak, Moolman & Fourie (1987a), and the role of E. myurus in the life cycle of this tick, colloquially
Summary
The ixodid ticks that infest elephant shrews in southern Africa have been recorded by Theiler (1962), who listed 14 species, and reviewed by Fourie, Du Toit, Kok & Horak (1995), who list 22 species. Accepted for publication 14 June 2005—Editor than purely academic interest in that rock elephant shrews, Elephantulus myurus, are the preferred hosts of the immature stages of three ticks capable of inducing paralysis in domestic animals (Fourie, Horak & Van Den Heever 1992a; Fourie, Horak, Kok & Van Zyl 2002). These ticks are Ixodes rubicundus, responsible for massive annual mortality amongst sheep (Spickett & Heyne 1988), Rhipicentor nuttalli that can cause paralysis in dogs (Perchman 1976; Norval & Colborne 1985), and Rhipicephalus warburtoni ( referred to as a tick belonging to the Rhipicephalus pravus group) that has been incriminated in paralysis in goat kids (Fourie, Horak & Marais 1988a). The hosts in Zimbabwe of adult R. nuttalli have been listed by Norval & Colborne (1985), while in South Africa the hosts of both adult and immature ticks have been recorded by Fourie et al (2002), who established the details of its life cycle. Walker, Keirans & Horak (2000) have summarized the host records obtained by Fourie and his co-workers for R. warburtoni during extensive surveys they conducted in Free State Province between 1985 and 1991. Fourie et al (1992a, 2002) have documented the seasonal occurrence of the immature stages of the latter three ticks on E. myurus
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