A COLLECTION OF TICKS (IXODIDAE) FROM SULAWESI UTARA, INDONESIA

Ixodid  ticks  were  collected  from  seven  species  of  endemic  murid  rodents  and  from  vegetation  in Sulawesi Utara,  Indonesia. Adult  ticks belonging  to  the species, Amblyomma babirussae, A. cyprium and Dermacentor  (Indocentor) steini were taken  from  the vegetation.  Immature  ticks assignable  to the genera, Haemaphysalis,  Amblyomma  and  Ixodes  infested  the murids with  Parauromys dominator and Maxomys musschenbroekii being  the  two most heavily  tick-infested host species. The data are  compared  to other  tick records from Sulawesi

Amblyomma parvum Aragao, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae) : phylogeography and systematic considerations

The geographical distribution of Amblyomma parvum Arag\ue3o 1908 in the New World is disjunct, with two main clusters separated from each other by the Amazon basin. The main objectives of this study were to further investigate the systematic relationships within A. parvum, to determine whether or not populations from different geographical areas might represent cryptic species, and to reconstruct the phylogeographical evolutionary history of the species. The genetic diversity of A. parvum collected throughout its distributional range was analyzed by using 6 molecular markers: 5 mitochondrial [the small and the large ribosomal subunits 12rDNA and 16SrDNA, the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and II (COII) and the control region or d-loop (DL)], and one nuclear (ITS2, Inter transcribed spacer 2). Phylogenetic trees were inferred by using maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses. In addition, node dating was attempted for the main lineages identified phylogenetically. Although mitochondrial and nuclear topologies were not totally congruent, they all identified at least two main supported clusters, a Central American lineage, and a Brazilian-Argentinian lineage. Clade support and divergence values strongly suggest that the two lineages correspond to different taxonomic entities. Node dating placed the split between the Central American and the Brazilian-Argentinian lineages at approximately 5.8-4.9 Mya, just after the progressive replacement of the dry areas that occupied the northern part of South America by the Amazon Basin in the early-mid Miocene. This event might be the cause of fragmentation and putative speciation within the ancestral relatively xerophilic A. parvum population

Three new fleas from Sulawesi, Indonesia (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae & Ceratophyllidae)

Gryphopsylla maxomydis n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae), Medwayella rubrisciurae n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae) and Macrostylophora theresae n. sp. (Ceratophyllidae) are described from endemic rodents in Sulawesi. Gryphopsylla maxomydis was collected from the murids Maxomys musschenbroekii and Paruromys dominator in Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). However, M. musschenbroekii appears to be the true host of this flea because it has spiny pelage and G. maxomydis shows morphological adaptations for parasitizing spiny hosts including a remarkable “beak-like” structure on the head. This adatation is similar to a beak-like structure on the head of Gryphopsylla hopkinsi (Traub) which parasitizes the spiny murid Maxomys whiteheadi in Borneo (Sabah). Medwayella rubrisciurae was collected from the large tree squirrel Rubrisciurus rubriventer in Central Sulawesi and this represents the first report of this flea genus in Sulawesi. Macrostylophora theresae was recorded from the murids Bunomys fratrorum, P. dominator and Rattus xanthurus in North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara); most other members of this flea genus parasitize squirrels in the Oriental and Palaearctic zoogeographical regions

<i>Linognathus weisseri<i/> n. sp. (Phthiraptera : Linognathidae) of impalas, <i>Aepyceros melampus<i/> : description and biology

The adult male and female and first instar nymph of the sucking louse Linognathus weisseri n. sp. are described. This louse was collected from impalas, Aepyceros melampus, at three localities in Limpopo Province, and at three in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Although it usually accounted for only a small proportion of the total louse burden, its overall prevalence exceeded 27 %. Its prevalence on adult male impalas (9 %) was significantly lower (P = 0.004) than that on adult females (39 %), but did not differ among age classes. However, the intensity of L. weisseri infestation was higher on lambs than on yearlings and adults, and peaked on impalas in late winter to early summer. Five species of lice are now known to parasitize impalas and a key for distinguishing adults of these species is included

(Gomez), new combination (Phthiraptera-Anoplura), an ectoparasite of the Chilean rodent

The same species of sucking louse (Phthiraptera-Anoplura) from the Chilean abrocomid rodent Abrocoma bennetti Waterhouse, 1837 was recently described as Eulinognathus chilensis Gomez, 1998 and as Abrocomaphthirus hoplai Durden & Webb, 1999. We discuss the nomenclature of this louse and confirm that its correct name is now Abrocomaphthirus chilensis (Gomez, 1998). After comparing type specimens designated from each description, we also document some morphological variation within this species with respect to the paratergal plate on abdominal segment 3 in the female which usually has two relatively long apical setae, but occasionally has only one

Deux Stivalius (Siphonaptera - Pygiopsyllidae - Pygiopsyllinae) nouveaux d'Indonésie

Les puces, S. meridionalis n. sp. de Timor et S. franciscae n. sp. du Sulawesi, Indonésie, sont décrites. S. meridionalis fut collecté dans le Timor Central (Timor Tengah) à des altitudes comprises entre 930 et 1 520 m, principalement sur le rongeur muriné Rattus tanezumi, bien que un spécimen fut trouvé sur la musaraigne commensale, Suncus murinus. S. franciscae provient du Sulawesi Central (Sulawesi Tengah] à des altitudes situées entre 950 et 2255 m à partir de six espèces de rongeurs murinés endémiques, spécialement Rattus hoffmanni et de deux espèces commensales de rongeurs murines. Un spécimen de S. franciscae fut également collecté sur le muriné endémique Paruromys dominator dans le Nord Sulawesi (Sulawesi litara) à 1 780 m. Ces deux nouvelles espèces de puces sont comparées aux taxa précédemment décrits dans le genre Stivalius sensu stricto

Abrocomaphthirus chilensis (Gomez), new combination (Phthiraptera-Anoplura), an ectoparasite of the Chilean rodent Abrocoma bennetti (Abrocomidae)

The same species of sucking louse (Phthiraptera-Anoplura) from the Chilean abrocomid rodent Abrocoma bennetti Waterhouse, 1837 was recently described as Eulinognathus chilensis Gomez, 1998 and as Abrocomaphthirus hoplai Durden & Webb, 1999. We discuss the nomenclature of this louse and confirm that its correct name is now Abrocomaphthirus chilensis (Gomez, 1998). After comparing type specimens designated from each description, we also document some morphological variation within this species with respect to the paratergal plate on abdominal segment 3 in the female which usually has two relatively long apical setae, but occasionally has only one

n. gen. (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia, with the description of two new species

Compared to related genera, this new flea genus is characterized by the absence, or presence of very few, bristles on the external surface of femur I and especially by the morphology of the apex of sternite IX in the male, which is hyaline and lacks spiniform bristles. The two new species, G. bunomydis and G. margaretamydis, are distinguished from each other by the structure of the genitalia, and the presence of numerous erect bristles on the thorax and abdominal tergites of the latter species. Both of these new species parasitize murine rodents that are endemic to Sulawesi; G. bunomydis was collected mainly from Bunomys chrysocomus and G. margaretamydis only from Margaretamys parvus

Deux

Les puces, S. meridionalis n. sp. de Timor et S. franciscae n. sp. du Sulawesi, Indonésie, sont décrites. S. meridionalis fut collecté dans le Timor Central (Timor Tengah) à des altitudes comprises entre 930 et 1 520 m, principalement sur le rongeur muriné Rattus tanezumi, bien que un spécimen fut trouvé sur la musaraigne commensale, Suncus murinus. S. franciscae provient du Sulawesi Central (Sulawesi Tengah] à des altitudes situées entre 950 et 2255 m à partir de six espèces de rongeurs murinés endémiques, spécialement Rattus hoffmanni et de deux espèces commensales de rongeurs murines. Un spécimen de S. franciscae fut également collecté sur le muriné endémique Paruromys dominator dans le Nord Sulawesi (Sulawesi litara) à 1 780 m. Ces deux nouvelles espèces de puces sont comparées aux taxa précédemment décrits dans le genre Stivalius sensu stricto