First report of Ornithodoros puertoricensis (Argasidae) and Amblyomma dissimile (Ixodidae) on Tamandua mexicana (Myrmecophagidae)

Abstract

Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites recognized for their ability to parasitize domestic, wild, andhuman vertebrates. These are important in the medical and veterinary fields due to the healthproblem that they can represent to their hosts (Bowman & Nuttall 2008). These problems can bedirectly due to causing anemia, allergic reaction, and flaccid paralysis, or indirectly due to thetransmission of pathogens (Sonenshine & Roe 2013). Ticks belong to the order Ixodida, whichconsists of three extant families: Ixodidae (hard ticks), Argasidae (soft ticks), and Nuttalliellidae.The Ixodidae family comprises around 758 species distributed in 17 genera, while in the Argasidaearound 219 species are distributed in five genera which are still controversial (Muñoz-Leal et al.2020; Guglielmone et al. 2021). The distribution of the Ixodidae and the Argasidae families can beconsidered cosmopolitan, mainly of medium and warm climates, although specimens have beenfound in sub-Antarctic biogeographic regions (Guglielmone et al. 2004).