Haemaphysalis (Allophysalis) garhwalensis sp. n. (Acarina: Ixodidae) Parasitizing Sheep and Goats in Garhwal Region, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Four previously described species included in the subgenus Allophysalis of the genus Haemaphysalis occur in high altitudes of Eurasia. A fifth species, H. (A.) garhwalensis sp. n., here described from adults from the Himalayan mountain range in Garhwal region, Uttar Pradesh, India, is structurally intermediate between H. (A.) pospelovashtromae Hoogstraal and H. (A.) tibetensis Hoogstraal. Hoogstraal (1966) included in the subgenus Allophysalis of the genus Haemaphysalis four species from high elevations in mountainous regions of Asia and southeastern Europe. These were H. (A.) kopetdaghicus Karbabayev from Turkmen SSR; H. (A.) pospelovashtromae Hoogstraal from Georgia SSR, Tadzhik SSR, Kirgiz SSR, and Chulyshman River valley, eastern Altai in RSFSR; H. (A.) tibetensis Hoogstraal from Tsela Dzong, Tsangpo valley, southeastern Tibet, and Yatung, at the mouth of Chumbi valley, southwestern Tibet; and H. (A.) warbtlrtoni Nuttall from Szechwan Province, China, and the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh, India. The discovery of a fifth species, H. (A.) garhwalensis sp. n., from Garhwal region in the Himalayan range of Uttar Pradesh, about 100 miles east of a collecting locality of H. warburtoni, is of considerable interest because it throws further light on distribution and on stepwise evolution within the genus Haemaphysalis. The following description is based on material collected by one of us (H.R.B.) during a field trip to areas adjoining Tibet in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Haemaphysalis (Allophysalis) garhwalensis sp. n. The Garhwal Haemaphysalid (Figs. 1-12) Holotype Male, VRC No. A74807-1, from domestic sheep, Mana (altitude approximately 3,200 m), near Received for publication 16 April 1968. * The Virus Research Centre is jointly maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research and The Rockefeller Foundation. The Centre also receives a grant (3x4307) of the PL 480 Funds from the NIH, USPHS, through the Indian Council of Medical Research. Badrinath, Chamoli District, Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh, India, 3 June 1967, H. R. Bhat. Deposited in the Virus Research Centre, Poona, tick collection.