Abstract:
Several studies on ticks infesting small mammals, including elephant shrews, have been
conducted in South Africa; however, these studies have included only a single four-toed
elephant shrew and no hedgehogs. This study thus aimed to identify and quantify the
ixodid ticks infesting four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs. Four-toed
elephant shrews (Petrodromus tetradactylus) were trapped in dense shrub undergrowth in a
nature reserve in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. They were separately housed, first in cages
and later in glass terraria fitted with wire-mesh bases to allow detached ticks to fall through
for collection. Southern African hedgehogs (Atelerix frontalis) were hand caught on a farm in
the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province and all visible ticks were collected by means
of tweezers while the animals were anaesthetised. The ticks from each animal were preserved
separately in 70% ethanol for later identification and counting. The immature stages of five
ixodid tick species were collected from the elephant shrews, of which Rhipicephalus muehlensi
was the most common. It has not been recorded previously on any species of elephant
shrew. Three ixodid tick species were collected from the hedgehogs. Large numbers of adult
Haemaphysalis colesbergensis, which has not been encountered previously on hedgehogs,
were collected from these animals. Four-toed elephant shrews are good hosts of the larvae
and nymphs of R. muehlensi, and Southern African hedgehogs are good hosts of adult H.
colesbergensis.
