Morphological and molecular identification of Amblyomma longirostre (Ixodida: Ixodidae) from birds in a protected area of southeastern Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT Birds are frequent hosts of the immature stages of many tick species, among them Amblyomma longirostre (Koch, 1844), whose larvae and nymphs have been reported from several families of Passeriformes. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which A. longirostre parasitizes birds at the Centro de Investigación y Transferencia de Tecnología Forestal ‘El Tormento’ (CITTFOR-El Tormento), Escárcega, Campeche, Mexico. A total of 59 birds representing 22 species were examined for ticks. Thirteen bird species, all Passeriformes, yielded 69 tick specimens: 57 larvae and 12 nymphs. Nine of the 12 nymphs were determined morphologically as A. longirostre; the three remaining nymphs were identified as Amblyomma sp. Additionally, 48 partial sequences of the 16S rDNA gene were obtained from 41 larvae and seven nymphs. Thirty sequences were similar (≤95%) to A. longirostre, one sequence to Amblyomma sabanerae, and one to Amblyomma nodosum. On the other hand, 15 sequences and one sequence showed low identity (>95%) to A. longirostre and A. nodosum, respectively. Cyanocompsa parellina, Passerina caerulea, Xiphorhynchus flavigaster and Uropsila leucogastra represent new host associations for A. longirostre in the Americas. Amblyomma sabanerae from Habia rubica and A. nodosum from P. caerulea represent new host associations.