Abstract
Although a group of soft ticks (Argasidae) associated with amphibians was recently discovered in Brazilian rainforests, parasitism by these ticks on cold-blooded animals remains less common than on mammal and bird species. In this study, we identified ticks that were collected from toads that had been caught in December 2016 and January 2017, at Itinguçú waterfall (22°54'05" S; 43°53'30" W) in the municipality of Itaguaí, state of Rio de Janeiro. Tick specimens were identified using a morphological and molecular approach. In total, twelve larvae of Ornithodoros ticks were collected from three individuals of Rhinella ornata and were identified as Ornithodoros faccinii. Our results include a longer 16S rRNA mitochondrial sequence for O. faccinii that supports its phylogenetic relatedness to Ornithodoros saraivai, and we report this tick species parasitizing Rhinella toads for the first time in Brazil.
Highlights
The fauna of anurans in Brazil is the largest in the world with more than 1000 extant species (IUCN, 2017; SBH, 2017)
We identified ticks that were collected from toads that had been caught in December 2016 and January 2017, at Itinguçú waterfall (22°54’05” S; 43°53’30” W) in the municipality of Itaguaí, state of Rio de Janeiro
Our results include a longer 16S rRNA mitochondrial sequence for O. faccinii that supports its phylogenetic relatedness to Ornithodoros saraivai, and we report this tick species parasitizing Rhinella toads for the first time in Brazil
Summary
The fauna of anurans in Brazil is the largest in the world with more than 1000 extant species (IUCN, 2017; SBH, 2017). Soft ticks (Argasidae) such as Ornithodoros faccinii Barros-Battesti, Landulfo & Luz, 2015, and Ornithodoros saraivai Muñoz-Leal & Labruna, 2017, have been recently added to the list, and have pointed towards the evolutionary possibility of a group that evolved in association with amphibians (MUÑOZ-LEAL et al, 2017b).
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