Richness of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Eastern Brazilian Amazonia, state of Para, Brazil

Ixodid or hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) occurs worldwide and are considered the most important vectors of pathogens to wild and domestic animals. Herein, we provide information on tick species infesting wildlife vertebrates, domestic animals (dog, donkey, goat, and horse), and humans as well as collected in the environment from 34 localities in the state of Para, eastern Brazilian Amazonia. This is the first report to include a large geographical range of the tick fauna associated with their hosts in the eastern Amazonia. Overall, 3,396 tick specimens (600 larvae, 830 nymphs, 602 males, 1,364 females) were collected, comprising five genera and 23 species [Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto (s.s.), Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma dissimile, Amblyomma geayi, Amblyomma goeldii, Amblyomma humerale, Amblyomma latepunctatum, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma nodosum, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma pacae, Amblyomma rotundatum, Amblyomma scalpturatum, Amblyomma varium, Dermacentor nitens, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Ixodes amarali, Ixodes luciae, Rhipicephalus microplus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.)]. Additionally, we also provide new tick-host associations for A. cajennense s.s., A. calcaratum, A. coelebs, A. dissimile, A. humerale, A. latepunctatum, A. longirostre, A. naponense, A. nodosum, A. oblongoguttatum, A. rotundatum, A. scalpturatum, H. juxtakochi, I. luciae, and R. microplus.

Automated summary

This study conducted in the eastern Brazilian Amazonia provides detailed information on tick species associated with their hosts, with a total of 3,396 tick specimens collected, representing 23 species. It is the first report to cover a large geographical range of tick fauna in this region.