Ecological studies on Ixodes (Afrixodes) matopi Spickett, Keirans, Norval & Clifford, 1980 (Acarina: Ixodidae)

Abstract

Ixodes (Afrixodes) matopi occurs in association with the klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) in rocky areas in Zimbabwe. The adult ticks are specific parasites of this antelope and the immature stages feed on klipspringers, hyraxes (Procavia capensis and Heterohyrax brucei) and red rock hares (Pronolagus crassicaudatus). Adults are active only in the wet season and prior to feeding are found on bushes growing adjacent to rocks. The ticks aggregate on twigs which have been marked with the secretions of the pre-orbital glands of klipspringers. Larvae are evident in greatest numbers in the latter part of the wet season and nymphs in the cool dry season. Unfed larvae and nymphs occur predominantly on mats of humid leaf litter in the cracks and gaps between rocks, and both show well defined patterns of daily activity.