On the presence of Ornithodoros microlophi (Argasidae) in Peru

Abstract

The soft tick Ornithodoros microlophi is known only from its larval stage, which is a parasite ofreptiles in the genus Microlophus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) from Chile (Venzal et al. 2013).Although a recent study found larvae of this soft tick on a gecko (Phyllodactylus gerrhopygus)(Muñoz-Leal et al. 2019a), main hosts from which O. microlophi has been collected are Microlophusatacamensis, Microlophus quadrivitattus and Microlophus theresioides (Venzal et al. 2013; Muñoz-Leal et al. 2019a), three species distributed in the shores and inner arid ecosystems of the AtacamaDesert in northern Chile. Reptiles in the genus Microlophus , also known as lava lizards, gather othernine species distributed along the Pacific seaboard from northern Chile to Ecuador (Benavides et al.2007). However data on tick parasitism in these species is inexistent.