Notes on African Haemaphysalis Ticks. VIII. H. (Rhipistoma) moreli sp. n., a Carnivore Parasite of the H. (R.) leachi Group (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae)

Abstract

Haenmaphysalis (Rhipistoma) moreli sp. n., described from wild-caught adult and laboratory-reared immature samples, is a member of the African H. (R.) leachi group, which also includes H. (R.) leachi (Audouin) and H. (R.) spinulosa Neumann. Rhipistoma ellipticum Koch is a nomen nudum and H. muhsamae Santos Dias and H. ethiopica Santos Dias are junior synonyms of H. (R.) spinulosa Neumann. Records are provided for 701 adult and 126 immature H. (R.) moreli taken from 128 hosts in savannas of western and eastern Africa between about 15? N and 06? S. Hosts of adults are carnivores, chiefly genets and civets, and also the lion, leopard, wildcat, serval, hyena, jackal, fox, and domestic cats and dogs. Immature stages are recorded from rodents and the nest of a bushbaby (Galago senegalensis subsp.). The African Haemaphysalis (Rhipistoma) leachi group appears to have evolved from an Asian progenitor similar to H. (R.) canestrinii (Supino) (Hoogstraal, 1971). The African group has long been the most taxonomically troublesome and biologically confusing assemblage within the genus Haemaphysalis. These problems are of more than academic interest since "H. leachi" has been incriminated in transmission of numerous pathogens causing diseases in man and animals (Neitz, 1956; Hoogstraal, 1967). The incorrect identification of many tick species has often seriously reduced the practical value of literature and of field and laboratory investigations and has caused suggested measures for prevention and control to be questionable. This report is the first in a series in which we hope to increase the understanding of the H. (R.) leachi group Received for publication 9 May 1972. *From Research Project MF12.524.009-3010B, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, Washington, D. C. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Navy or of the naval service at large. The illustrations in this report were prepared under the auspices of Agreement 03-005-01 between the NIAID (NIH) and NAMRU-3. t Medical entomologist, ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer), c/o Institut Pasteur, B.P. 220, Dakar, Senegal. t Medical Zoology Department, United States Naval Medical Research Unit Number Three (NAMRU-3), U. S. Interests Section, c/o Spanish Embassy, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt. and to stabilize its nomenclature. A species common on carnivores in middle Africa is described. Four taxa have previously been proposed for the H. (R.) leachi group in Africa and another (Rhipistoma ellipticum) has also been referred to this group by certain authors. These are: H. leachi (Audouin, 1827), as redescribed and redefined by Hoogstraal (1958). We consider this to be a valid name for the taxon. H. spinulosa Neumann, 1906, as redescribed and redefined by Hoogstraal (1964). We consider this to be a valid name for the taxon. [Rhipistoma ellipticum Koch, 1844. See Nuttall and Warburton, 1915, p. 517, for discussion of this taxon, which these and earlier authors considered to be a junior synonym of H. leachi (Audouin, 1827). The type material (a single male) appears to have been lost, and we consider R. ellipticuin to be a nomen nudum.] H. muhsamae Santos Dias (1954) was described from one male, one female, and one nymph. Santos Dias (1955) redescribed the male from another specimen, provided new descriptions for the female and nymph, and stated that the original descriptions of the female and nymph were in error and represented a different species (see H. ethiopica). As stated below, we consider this taxon to be a junior synonym of H. spinulosa Neumann, 1906. H. ethiopica Santos Dias (1958) was described from male specimens; the female and nymph of this taxon were stated to be those described under H. muhsamae Santos Dias