Abstract:
The first collection of unengorged and fully engorged larvae of Nuttalliella sp. (N. namaqua?)
from the murid rodents Micaelamys namaquensis, Aethomys chrysophilus and Acomys
spinosissimus in Limpopo Province and from M. namaquensis in the Northern Cape Province,
South Africa, is documented. A total of nine larvae were collected from two M. namaquensis in
the Soutpansberg mountain range in the Limpopo Province during April 2009. During the last
week of September 2011, 221 larvae were collected from rodents at the same locality and 10 of
48 M. namaquensis, 6 of 12 Ae. chrysophilus and 3 of 14 Ac. spinosissimus were infested. One of
the M. namaquensis harboured 53 larvae. Five larvae were collected from two M. namaquensis in
the Northern Cape Province. Total genomic DNA was extracted from two larvae and a region
of the 18S rRNA gene was sequenced for these. BLASTn searches revealed similarity between
these specimens and the Nuttalliella sequences published on GenBank.
