Rediscovery, Redescription, and Relationships of Haemaphysalis vidua Warburton and Nuttall, 1909 (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae) from Malaya

Abstract

The male of Haemaphysalis vidua Warburton and Nuttall, 1909, previously known only by a single specimen, is redescribed and the female is described for the first time. vidua, a parasite of Malayan civets, belongs to a haemaphysalid group with unusual capitular formations related to bispinosa Neumann. Haemaphysalis vidua was described by Warburton and Nuttall (1909) from a single male specimen taken in company with H. leachii from a Palm Civet, Paradoxurus sp., in the Federated Malay States, March 1909, by Dr. A. T. Stanton. It has not been reported since that time, and the female has remained unknown. This interesting species differs from other haemaphysalids in a peculiar uptilt of the basal margins of the palpi. Given only a brief description and rough sketch of vidua, based on a single individual, one might wonder whether this specimen could have been an imperfectly developed one. Study of the presently reported series, however, indicates that vidua is a valid species with several unique structural features, some of which have previously been unrecognized. Recently, through the kindness of Professor John R. Hendrickson of the Department of Zoology, University of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur, we have been privileged to receive some outstanding collections of Malayan ticks. Among these were 11 males and 1 female of vidua taken from a Malay Civet, Viverra tangalunga Gray, at Tasek Bera, Pahang, Malaya, on 12 October 1961, by Ben Ensoll, together with specimens of dentipalpis Warburton and Nuttall, koningsbergeri Warburton and Nuttall, and immature stages of Haemaphysalis sp. and Amblyomma sp. The specimens of H. leachii reported with vidua in Warburton and Nuttall's Received for publication 25 July 1962. From Research Project MR005.09-1402.3, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department, Washington 25, D. C. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of the author and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the naval service at large. original description of this species were probably actually koningsbergeri. The description and sketch of the male vidua in Warburton and Nuttall (1909) and in Nuttall and Warburton (1915, p. 495-496) provide only an incomplete taxonomic diagnosis of this species and are not sufficiently detailed for modern needs. The present study is part of a larger work designed to elucidate the phylogenetic position of vidua and other members of this genus. The male is here redescribed and the female described for the first time. We are grateful to Professor Hendrickson for this fine material. Haemaphysalis vidua Warburton and Nuttall, 1909 (figs. 1-14) Redescription. Male: Length from apex of palpi to posterior margin of scutum measures approximately 2.0 mm, width 1.2 mm. Color yellowish. Capitulum (figs. 5, 6). Basis capituli essentially rectangular and with moderate cornua; length (including cornua) approximately 2.3 of width; surface with a few scattered minute punctations; lateral margins slightly convex bordering cornua; posterior margin straight between cornua; cornua widely triangular, apex bluntly rounded, almost half as long as base. Basis capituli ventrally bearing approximately 4 sublateral setae and a pair of short posthypostomal bristles. Palpi short, widely triangular, segment 2 with peculiarly uptilted basal margins. Dorsally, segment 1 prominent, with long lateral margin; segment 3 (including basal spur) almost as long as segment 2; segment 2 with long, uncurved, uptilted basal margin, basolateral juncture acutely recurved, lateral margin short (in some specimens even shorter than herein illustrated), inner margin long and sinuous; segment 3 widely triangular with short inner margin, long lateral margin, and basal margin which is slightly longer than apical margin of segment 2 and bears a short but widely triangular spur; segment 1 bearing one lateral seta; segment 2 bearing two lateral setae, two basal setae, and two short, narrow inner setae; segment 3 bearing at least two setae. Ventrally,