Ixodes (Exopalpiger) jonesae sp. n. (Acarina: Ixodidae), a Parasite of Rodents in Venezuela

Abstract

The female, male, nymph, and larva of Ixodes (Exopalpiger) jonesae, sp. n. are described from rodents in the state of Merida, Venezuela. All of the collections were from Thomasomys laniger except for a single larva from Oryzomys minutus. This new species and I. (E.) andinus Kohls, 1956 of Peru are the only representatives of the subgenus known from the Western Hemisphere. The new species described herein was found among ticks that were collected by personnel of the Smithsonian Institution/U. S. Army Venezuelan Project in the state of Merida in western Venezuela during February and March 1966 and submitted to the senior author for identification. The species is dedicated to Mrs. Eleanor K. Jones, Biological Laboratory Technician, Rocky Mountain Laboratory, who first recognized that the species differed from the only other representative of the subgenus Exopalpiger known from the Western Hemisphere, Ixodes (E.) andinus Kohls, 1956. All measurements are given in millimeters. In the description of the nymph and larva the numbers in parentheses refer to the number of specimens that were measured. Terminology for larval chaetotaxy is that of Clifford and Anastos (1960). Ixodes (Exopalpiger) jonesae sp. n. Figs. 1-14 Holotype: Female, from Thomasomys laniger, 4 km S, 6.5 km E Tabay (La Coromoto) 3,170 m elev., Merida, Venezuela, 12 March 1966, N. E. Peterson (RML 47372). Deposited in the Rocky Mountain Laboratory. Allotype: Male, data as for holotype except 11 March 1966 (RML 47369). Deposited in the Rocky Mountain Laboratory. Paratypes: Total 1 9, 7 nymphs, 50 larvae. 1 9, 1 larva, data as for holotype except 13 March 1966 (RML 47376); 3 larvae in 2 lots, data as for holotype except 11 March 1966 (RML 47370, 47371); 2 nymphs, 37 larvae in 4 lots, data as for Received for publication 13 August 1968. * U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, Montana 59840. t Biology Department, Old Dominion College, Norfolk, Virginia 23508. This study was supported by a grant, AI 07082, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. holotype (RML 47372, 47373, 47374, 47375); 7 larvae in 3 lots, data as for holotype except 13 March 1966 (RML 47377, 47378, 47379); 1 larva, data as for holotype except 16 March 1966 (RML 47380); 1 larva from Oryzomys minutus, data as for holotype except 18 March 1966 (RML 47381); 5 nymphs in 3 lots from Thomasomys laniger, 3 km W Timotes (near Paramito) approximately 3,200 m elev., 14-16 February 1966, N. E. Peterson (RML 47363, 47364, 47365). Paratypes are deposited in the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, Illinois) and the Rocky Mountain Laboratory.