Ocorrência de Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 em Epicrates assisi Machado, 1945 em João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil

Aksa Ingrid Vieira Batista,Thiago Ferreira Lopes Nery,Gabriel Vinicius Carvalho De Lucena,Thiago Fernandes Martins,Kleber Silva De Oliveira Filho,Josivania Soares Pereira

doi:10.21708/avb.2021.15.4.10147

Abstract

The Caatinga rainbow boa (Epicrates assisi Machado, 1945) is a snake belonging to the order Squamata, family Boidae, and subfamily Boinae. It has a wide distribution in Brazil and can be found in the Caatinga biome. The present study aims to report the first occurrence of Amblyomma rotundatum on E. assisi in the municipality of João Pessoa, Paraíba State (PB). On March 3, 2020, a tick collection was performed on the dorsal region of the head of an E. assisi, which was captive at the Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park, João Pessoa-PB. After collecting the tick, it was transferred to a flask containing 70º alcohol and sent to the Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA) for analysis. Identification was done with the aid of a stereomicroscope using a taxonomic key. The result identified this specimen as a nymph of A. rotundatum. The occurrence of this tick species on E. assisi is reported for the first time and constitutes new data applicable to the ectoparasites that occur in this host species in Brazil.

Highlights

The Caatinga rainbow boa (Epicrates assisi Machado, 1945), known as the Caatinga salamant, is a snake belonging to the order Squamata, family Boidae, and subfamily Boinae
Considering that in Brazil, especially for the Northeast region of this country, the records of occurrence of ticks for reptiles of the genus Epicrates are scarce and sparse, having a long time between one report and another, the present study aims to report the first occurrence of A. rotundatum on E. assisi in the Municipality of João Pessoa, Paraíba State (PB), which is a captive of the Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park
From the analysis of the specimen, it was identified as a tick

Summary

Introduction

The Caatinga rainbow boa (Epicrates assisi Machado, 1945), known as the Caatinga salamant, is a snake belonging to the order Squamata, family Boidae, and subfamily Boinae. It has aglyphous dentition, not being a venomous species, and it draws attention due to its iridescent-color scales when exposed to sunlight, since it has ocelli along the back of the body. In Brazil, 75 species of ticks are found, 51 in the Ixodidae family and 24 in the Argasidae family Several of these are found as ectoparasites of reptiles, among which there are species classified in the families Ixodidae and Argasidae in the genera Amblyomma and Ornithodoros (PEREIRA et al, 2012; DANTAS-TORRES et al, 2019; MARTINS et al 2019; MUÑOZ-LEAL et al, 2020; ONOFRIO et al, 2020; SOUZA et al, 2020)

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