Amblyomma yucumense Krawczak, Martins & Labruna, 2015 (Acari: Ixodidae) in Argentina

Abstract

Amblyomma yucumense was recently described from specimens collected in the Turvo State Park, southern Brazil. In search of this tick species, free-living ticks were collected at the Moconá Provincial Park and the Yabotí Biosphere Reserve in Misiones province, Argentina. A total of 594 ticks were collected, of which 448 were Amblyomma brasiliense, 90 Amblyomma incisum, one Amblyomma ovale, 48 Haemaphysalis juxtakochi and seven A. yucumense. The latter was confirmed by the presence of certain morphological characters and the analysis of sequences of a 410-bp fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA performed to representative specimens. The sequences showed 100% identity with that of A. yucumense from Turvo State Park in Brazil. Amblyomma yucumense, Amblyomma dubitatum and Amblyomma coelebs phylogenetically group together and are morphologically similar, though they seem to have distinct ecological preferences. Amblyomma coelebs has only been found in northern Misiones province, while the most numerous records of A. dubitatum come from the central area of the province. Until now, the distribution of A. yucumense in Argentina is restricted to Moconá and Yabotí. The findings in this study expand A. brasiliense, A. incisum, A. ovale and H. juxtakochi distribution ranges to the south, and we report for the first time the presence of A. yucumense in Argentina.