Bat Tick Research Articles

A contribution to the internal anatomy and histology of the bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls, 1941. II. The reproductive, muscular, respiratory, excretory, and nervous systems.

The anatomy and histology of certain internal organs and body systems of the bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls, 1941 are described, and comparisons with published descriptions of these structures in other species are made in this second paper of a 2-part series. The anatomy and histology of the alimentary system was described in the first paper published in 1970 by Sonenshine & Gregson.

A contribution to the internal anatomy and histology of the bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls, 1941. I. The alimentary system, with notes on the food channel in Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine, and Clifford, 1965.

The anatomy and histology of the alimentary system in the bat tick ORNITHODOROS KELLEYI Cooley and Kohls, 1941 is described in detail. The morphology of the mouthparts of the sea bird tick Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine and Clifford, 1965 is considered for comparative purposes. This study constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of the anatomy and histology of a bat tick or of a species of the subgenus Alectorobius Pocock, 1907.

Ixodes (Lepidixodes) kopsteini Oudemans, 1925, valid name for I. (L.) paradoxus Kohls and Clifford, 1961, with notes on distribution and hosts (Acarina: Ixodidae).

Ixodes (Lepidixodes) paradoxus Kohls and Clifford, 1961 is reduced to a synonym of I. (L.) kopsteini Oudemans, 1925. Previously known from Amboina, Malaya (Malaysia), North Borneo, and the Congo, this bat tick is recorded again from Malaysia off Mops mops and Tadarida johorensis, and for the first time from various bats in Thailand, Philippines (Luzon), and New Guinea.

External Anatomy of the Bat Tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls (Acarina: Argasidae)

The external morphology of the bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi is described for all stages except the egg. The main structures or systems considered are the integument, orifices, folds, grooves and depressions, appendages, and the capitulum. The integument of the adults is mammillated and bears discs arranged in a distinct pattern. The integument of all stages bears setae and sensilla, which show a consistent pattern of distribution primarily in the larval stage. Larvae normally have 34 dorsal body setae, and 17 body setae. The sensilla described are sensilla auriformia and are very numerous in adults and nymphs, apparently without any systematic pattern of distribution. In larvae they are less numerous and distributed in a regular pattern. Six pairs occur ventrally, and 11 pairs are located on the dorsal surface. Histologically, the adult and nymphal cuticle is thick and consists of the procuticle, epicuticle, and a cement layer. The larval cuticle is exceedingly thin, lacks the cement layer, and is extremely folded except on a few specific structures. The orifices are described and compared in the different stages. The larva lacks the respiratory apparatus described by Theodor and Costa (1961) for certain other argasid ticks. Folds, grooves, and depressions occur in adults and nymphs but are lacking in larvae. 0. kelleyi lacks the dorsoventral groove found in some Ornithodoros species. The dorsal marginal fold is described and the resemblance of the posterior portion of the transverse postanal groove to the ventral paired organ described by Hoogstraal (1961) and others is noted. The setal pattern of tarsus I is compared with that of other Ornithodoros species. The setal pattern on other leg segments is also described. The capitulum is described in detail. Particular attention is given to the shape of the basis capituli, the palpal articles, the cheliceral digits, the shape and dentition of the hypostome, and the setal patterns of these

Bat Ticks of the Genus Argas (Ixodoidea, Argasidae), 3. The Subgenus Carios, A Redescription of A. (C.) Vespertilionis (Latreille, 1802), and Variation within an Egyptian Population12

The much-mooted name Argas vespertilionis, originally applied in the genus Carios to an engorged specimen from bat haunts in France, accompanied an original description that is not sufficiently definite to verify the identity of the arthropod to which it refers. However, since only a single Argas species is known to parasitize European bats north of southern Italy and this name has long been in common usage, its retention appears probably to be warranted.

Bat Ticks of the Genus Argas (Ixodoidea, Argasidae) 2. Secretargas New Subgenus and A. Transgariepinus White, 1846, Its Adult and Immature Stages; with a Definition of the Subgenus Argas1

Argas transgariepinus was briefly described by White (1846) from three cotype specimens, now in British Museum (Natural History), found somewhere in South Africa (i.e. “across the Gariep River”, the old name for the Orange River). Neumann (1901) reported a specimen from Cafrerie (Eastern Province, Union of South Africa) under the probably synonymus name A. kochi (Paris Museum). Berlese (1913) commented on two Italian specimens, one on the wall of a building and the other biting a child. In Egypt, this is a rare and highly secretive tick but over a period of years more than five hundred specimens have been collected from local populations (Hoogstraal 1952, 1954) and numerous others have been reared in the laboratory. A single specimen from Teruel, Spain, was seen by Nuttall (Hoogstraal 1954). Recently I have been privileged to examine two larvae of this species from Pipislrellus savii savii (Bonaparte, 1837) from Syracuse, Sicily; these are part of a lot (T23) collected in July, 1955.

A new "bat tick"

A new "bat tick"