Ticks (Acari : Ixodidae) collected from animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa
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Date
Authors
Golezardy, Habib
Horak, Ivan Gerard
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Agricultural Research Council, ARC-OVI and the University of Pretoria
Abstract
The objective of this study was to make an inventory of the ixodid tick species infesting wild animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa. To this end 22 animals in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 10 in the West Coast National Park and 16 in the Karoo National Park were examined. Fourteen tick species were recovered, of which Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus exoph thalmos and Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum were each present in two reserves and the remainder only in one. The distributions of two of the 14 tick species recovered, namely Rhipicephalus capensis and Rhipicephalus neumanni, are virtually confined to the western semi-arid regions of southern Africa. Hyalomma truncatum, R. capensis and R. glabroscutatum were the most numerous of the ticks recovered, and eland, Taurotragus oryx, were the most heavily infested with the former two species and gemsbok, Oryx gazella, and mountain reedbuck, Redunca fulvorufula, with R. glabroscutatum.
Description
Keywords
Wildlife, Semi-arid nature reserves, Ixodid ticks, Hosts, Geographic distribution
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Golezardy, H & Horak, IG 2007, 'Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from animals in three western, semi-arid nature reserves in South Africa', Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 81-85. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_opvet.html]