A REVIEW OF NEOTROPICAL AMBLYOMMA SPECIES (ACARI: IXODIDAE)

About author:

Voltzit O.V., Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Bol. Nikitskaya 6, Moscow, 125009 Russia

Annotation:

This review includes descriptions of all available Neotropical Amblyomma species, keys to males and females, synonymy lists, geographical distribution, and host-parasite associations. Note that three species have not been included in our study, because samples were not available for comparison. However, these are valid species: Amblylomma hirtum Neumann, 1906, Amblyomma boulengeri Hirst et Hirst, 1910, and Amblyomma beaurepairei Voglesang et Santos Dias, 1953.

Bibliography:

Aragão, H.B. and da Fonseca, F. 1961a. Notas de Ixod-
ologia. VIII. Lista e chave para os representantes da
fauna ixodológica brasileira. Memórias do Institu-
to Oswaldo Cruz, 59: 115–129.

Aragão, H.B. and da Fonseca, F. 1961b. Notas de
Ixodologia. IX. O complexo ovale do género Am-
blyomma. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
59: 131–148.

Arzua, M., Navarro da Silva, M.A., Famadas, K.M,
Beati, L., Barros-Battesti, D.M. 2003. Amblyomma
aureolatum and Ixodes auritulus (Acari: Ixodidae)
on birds in southern Brazil, with notes on their
ecology. Experimental & Applied Acarology, 31:
283–296.

Barros-Battesti, D.M., Onofrio, V.C., Labruna, M.B.,
Martins, J.R., and Guglielmone, A.A. 2005. Rede-
scription of Amblyomma fuscum Neumann, 1907
(Acari: Ixodidae), a rare South America tick con-
firmed in Brazil. Systematic Parasitology, 61:85–92.

Barros-Battesti, D.M., Arzua, M., and Bechara, G.H.
2006. Carrapatos de importância médico-veter-
inária da região Neotropical. Um guia ilustrado
para identificação de especies. Vox/ICTTD-3/Bu-
tantan, São Paulo, 223 pp.

Bequaert, J.C. 1932. On the ornate nymphs of the genus
Amblyomma. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde, 4: 776–
783.

Blair, P.J., Jiang, J., Schoeler, G.B., Moron, C., Anaya,
E., Cespedes, M., Cruz, C., Felices, V., Guevara,
C., Mendoza, L., Villaseca, P., Sumner, J.W., Rich-
ards, A.L., and Olson, J.G. 2004. Characterization
of spotted fever group rickettsiae in flea and tick
specimens from Northern Peru. Journal of Clinical
Microbiology, 42: 4961–4967.

Bloemer, S.R., Russell, C.L., and Keirans, J.E. 1987.
Amblyomma calcaratum (Acari: Ixodidae), a Cen-
tral and South American tick, found in Kentucky,
USA. Journal of Medical Entomology, 24: 117.

Boero, J.J. 1957. Las garrapatas de la república Argen-
tina (Acarina — Ixodoidea). Departamento Edito-
rial — Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires,
113 pp.

Burridge, M.J., Simmons, L.A., Allan, S.A. 2000. Intro-
duction of potential heartwater vectors and other
exotic ticks into Florida on imported reptiles. Jour-
nal of Parasitology, 86: 700–704.

Caceres, A. G., Beati, L., and Keirans, J.E. 2002. First
evidence of the occurrence of Amblyomma cal-
caratum Neumann, 1899 in Peru. Revista peruana
de biologia, 9: 116–117.

Cerny, V. 1966. Nuevas garrapatas (Ixodoidea) en aves
y reptiles de Cuba. Poeyana, Serie A, 26:1–10.

Cerny, V. 1969. Nuevos conocimientos sobre la ixodo-
fauna cubana. Torreia, 21:1–12.

Clifford, C.M., and Kohls, G.M. 1961. Description of
the female of Dermacentor latus Cooley and of
Amblyomma albopictum Neumann (Acarina —
Ixodidae). The Journal of Parasitology, 48: 486–
489.

Cooley, R.A., and Kohls, G.M. 1944. The genus Ambly-
omma in the United States. The Journal of Parasi-
tology, 30: 77–111.

Dunn, L.H. 1933. Two new species of ticks from Pana-
ma (Amblyomma tapirellum and A. pecarium).
Parasitology, 25:353–358.

Durden, L.A., and Keirans, J.E. 1996. Host-parasite
coextinction and the plight of tick conservation.
American Entomologist, 42: 87–91.

Durden, L.A., and Knapp, C.R. 2005. Tick parasitizing
reptiles in the Bahamas. Medical and Veterinary
Entomology, 19:326.

Estrada-Peña, A., Guglielmone, A. A., Mangold, A. J.
2004. The distribution and ecological «preferenc-
es» of the tick Amblyomma cajennense (Acari:
Ixodidae), an ectoparasite of humans and other
mammals in the Americas. Annals of Tropical
Medicine and Parasitology, 98:283–292.

Fairchild, G.B., Kohls, G.M., and Tipton, V.J. 1966. The
ticks of Panama (Acarina: Ixodoidea). In: W.R.
Wenzel and V.J. Tipton (Eds.). Ectoparasites of
Panama, Field Museum of Natural History, Chica-
go, pp. 167–219.

Forlano, M., Scofield, A., Elisei, C., Fernandes, K.R.,
Ewing, S.A., and Massard, C.L. 2005. Diagnosis of
Hepatozoon spp. in Amblyomma ovale and its ex-
perimental transmission in domestic dogs in Barzil.
Veterinary Parasitology, 134: 1–7.

Gonzãlez-Acuña, D., Venzal, J., Keirans, J.E., Gugliel-
mone, A.A. 2003. The genus Amblyomma Koch,
1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) in Chile, with new records
of A. argentinae Neumann, 1904 and A. tigrinum
Koch, 1844. Systematic & Applied Acarology, 8:
85–88.

Gonzãlez-Acuña, D., Venzal, J., Skewes-Ramm, O.,
Rubilar-Contreras, L., Daugschies, A., and Gugliel-
mone, A.A. 2004. First record of immature stages
of Amblyomma tigrinum (Acari: Ixodidae) on wild
birds in Chile. Experimental & Applied Acarology,
33: 153–156.

Guglielmone, A.A., Beati, L., Barros-Battesti, D.M.,
Labruna, M.B., Nava, S., Venzal, J.M., Mangold,
A.J., Szabó, M.P.J., Martins, J.R., Gonzãlez-Acuña,
D., and Estrada-Peña, A. 2006. Ticks (Ixodidae) on
humans in South America. Experimental & Applied
Acarology, 40: 83–100.

Guglielmone, A.A., Estrada-Peña, A., Keirans, J.E., and
Robbins, R.G. 2003a. Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of the
Neotropical Zoogeographic Region. Atalanta,
Houten, 173 pp.

Guglielmone, A.A., Estrada-Peña, A., Luciani, C.A.,
Mangold, A.J., and Keirans, J.E. 2003b. Hosts and
distribution of Amblyomma auricularium (Conil
1878) and Amblyomma pseudoconcolor Aragão,
1908 (Acari: Ixodidae). Experimental & Applied
Acarology 29: 131–139.

Guglielmone, A.A., Estrada-Peña, A., Mangold, A.J.,
Barros-Battesti, D.M., Labruna, M.B., Martins, J.R.,
Venzal, J.M., Arzua, M., and Keirans, J.E. 2003c.
Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas, 1772) and Ambly-
omma ovale Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae): hosts,
distribution, and 16S rDNA sequences. Veterinary
Parasitology, 113: 273–288.

Guglielmone, A.A., and Hadani, A. 1985. Amblyomma
neumanni Ribaga, 1902: su nomenclatura y tax-
onomia. Veterinaria Argentina, 2: 721–728.

Guglielmone, A.A., Luciani, C.A., and Mangold, A.J.
2001. Aspects of the ecology of Amblyomma ar-
gentinae Neumann, 1904 [=Amblyomma testudinis
(Conil, 1877)] (Acari: Ixodidae). Systematic &
Applied Acarology, Special Publications, 8:1–12.
Guglielmone, A.A., Mangold, A.J., and Keirans, J.E.
1990. Redescription of the male and female of
Amblyomma parvum Aragão, 1908, and descrip-
tion of the nymph and larva, and description of all
stages of Amblyomma pseudoparvum sp. n. (Acari:
Ixodida: Ixodidae). Acarologia, 31: 143–159.

Guzmán-Cornejo, C., Pérez, T.M., Nava, S., and
Guglielmone, A.A. 2006. Confirmation of the
presence of Amblyomma triste Koch, 1844 (Acari:
Ixodidae) in Mexico Systematic & Applied Ac-
arology, 11: 47–50.

Hilburn, L.R., Gunn, S.J., and Castillo, C. 1989. Com-
parison of isozyme phenotypes of the morpholog-
ically similar ticks Amblyomma cajennense and A.
imitator (Acari: Ixodidae) from South Texas. Jour-
nal of Medical Entomology, 26: 23–29.

Hirst, S. and Hirst, L.F. 1910. Description of five new
species of ticks (Ixodidae). Annals and Magazine
of Natural History, Ser.8, 6: 299–308.

Hoffmann, A. M. 1946. Amblyomma boneti n. sp. de
Mexico (Acarina: Ixodidae). Revista del Instituto de
Salubridad y Enfermedades Tropicales, 7: 207–219.

Horak, I.G., Camicas, J.-L., and Keirans, J.E. 2002. The
Argasidae, Ixodidae, and Nuttalliellidae (Acari:
Ixodida): a world list of valid tick names. Experi-
mental & Applied Acarology. 28: 25–54.

Jones, E.K., Clifford, C.M., Keirans, J.E., and Kohls,
G.M. 1972. The ticks of Venezuela (Acarina: Ixo-
doidea) with a key to the species of Amblyomma in
the western hemisphere. Brigham Young Universi-
ty Science Bulletin, Biological. Series, 17: 1–40.

Keirans, J.E. 1972. Redescription of Amblyomma ful-
vum Neumann, 1899 (Acarina: Ixodidae), a para-
site of the giant anaconda in Northern South Amer-
ica. Journal of Medical Entomology, 9: 138–139.

Keirans, J.E. 1985. Amblyomma antillorum Kohls, 1969
(Acari: Ixodidae): description of the immature stag-
es from the rock iguana, Iguana pinguis (Sauria:
Iguanidae) in the British Virgin Islands. Proceed-
ings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 87:
821–825.

Keirans, J.E., Hoogstraal, H., and Clifford, C.M. 1973.
The Amblyomma (Acarina: Ixodidae) parasitic on
giant tortoises (Reptilia: Testudinidae) of the Gala-
pagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society
of America, 66: 673–688.

Keirans, J.E., and Klompen, J.S.H. 1996. Amblyomma
quadricavum (Schulze) (new combination), and
Amblyomma arianae Keirans and Garris, a new
junior synonym of Amblyomma quadricavum. Pro-
ceedings of the Entomological Society of Washing-
ton, 98: 164–165.

Keirans, J.E., and Oliver J.H. Jr. 1993. First description
of the male and redescription of the immature
stages of Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixodi-
dae), a recently discovered tick in the U.S.A. The
Journal of Parasitology, 79: 860–865.

Kohls, G.M. 1956. Concerning the identity of Amblyo-
mma maculatum, A. tigrinum, A. triste, and A.
ovatum of Koch, 1844. Proceedings of the Entomo-
logical Society of Washington, 58: 143–147.

Kohls, G.M. 1958. Amblyomma imitator, a new species of
tick from Texas and Mexico, and remarks on the
synonymy of A. cajennense (Fabricius) (Acarina:
Ixodidae). The Jouranl of Parasitology, 44: 430–433.
Kohls, G.M. 1969. A new species of Amblyomma from
iguanas in the Caribbean (Acarina: Ixodidae). Jour-
nal of Medical Entomology, 6: 439–442.

Labruna, M.B., Camargo, L.M., Terrassini, F.A., Schu-
maker, T.T.S., and Camargo, E.P. 2002. Notes on
parasitism by Amblyomma humerale (Acari: Ixodi-
dae) in the State of Rondônia, Western Amazon,
Brazil. Journal of Medical Enomology, 39: 814–
817.

Labruna, M.B., Keirans, J.E., Camargo, L.M.A., Ribei-
ro, A.F., Martins, R.S., and Camargo, E.P. 2005.
Amblyomma latepunctatum, a valid tick species
(Acari: Ixodidae) long misidentified with both
Amblyomma incisum and Amblyomma scalptura-
tum. The Journal of Parasitology, 91: 527–541.

Labruna, M.B., McBride J.W., Bouyer, D.H., Camargo,
L.M.A., Camargo, E.P., and Walker, D.H. 2004a.
Molecular evidence for a spotted fever group Rick-
ettsia species in the tick Amblyomma longirostre in
Brazil. Journal of Medical Entomology, 41: 533–
537.

Labruna, M.B., Whitworth, T., Horta, M.C., Bouyer,
D.H., McBride, J.W., Pinter, A., Popov, V., Gen-
nari, S.M., Walker, D.H. 2004b. Rickettsia species
infecting Amblyomma cooperi ticks from an area in
the State of São Paulo, Brazil, where brazilian
spotted fever is endemic. Journal of Clinical Micro-
biology, 42: 90–98.

Lampo, M., Rangel, Y., and Mata, A. 1997. Genetic
markers for the identification of two tick species,
Amblyomma dissimile and Amblyomma rotunda-
tum. Journal of Parasitology, 83: 382–386.

Lord, C.C., and Day, J.F. 2000. First record of Ambly-
omma auricularium (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Unit-
ed States. Journal of Medical Entomology, 37:
977–978.

Mendoza-Uribe, L., and Chávez-Chorocco, J. 2004.
Amplificación geographica de siete especies de
Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) y primer reporte de
A. oblongoguttatum Koch, 1844 para Perú. Revista
peruana de Entomologia, 44: 69–72.

Morshed, M.G., Scott, J.D., Keerthi, F., Beati, L., Maz-
erolle, D.F., Geddes, G. Durden, L.A. 2005. Migra-
tory songbirds disperse ticks across Canada, and
first isolation of the lyme disease spirochete, Borre-
lia burgdorferi, from the avian tick, Ixodes auritu-
lus. The Journal of Parasitology, 91: 780–790.

Nava, S., Mangold, A. J., and Guglielmone, A.A. 2006.
The natural hosts for larvae and nymphs of Ambly-
omma neumanni and Amblyomma parvum (Acari:
Ixodidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology, 40:
123–131.

Need, J.T., Dale, W.E., Keirans, J.E., Dasch, G.A. 1991.
Annotated list of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae: Argasidae)
reported in Perú: distribution. hosts, and bibliogra-
phy. Journal of Medical Entomology, 28: 590–597.

Neumann, L.G. 1899. Révision de la famille des Ixo-
didés. Mémoires de la Société de Zoologie de France,
12: 211–217.

Oliver, J.H., Hayes, M.P., Keirans, J.E., and Lavender,
D.R. 1993. Establishement of the foreign partheno-
genetic tick Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixo-
didae) in Florida. The Journal of Parasitology, 79:
786–790.

Paddock, C.D., Sumner, J.W., Comer, J.A., Zaki, S.R.,
Goldsmith, C.S., Goddard, J., McLellan, S.L.F.,
Tamminga, C.L., and Ohl, C.A. 2004. Rickettsia
parkeri: a newly recognized cause of spotted fever
rickettsiosis in the United States. Clinical Infec-
tious Diseases, 38: 805–811.

Pérez Vigueras, I. 1934. Description de la hembra de
Amblyomma albopictum Neumann, 1899. Revista
de la Universidad de la Habana, 3: 128–129.

Pinter, A., Dias, R.A., Gennari, S.M., and Labruna M. B.
2004. Study of the seasonal dynamics, life cycle,
and host specificity of Amblyomma aureolatum
(Acari: Ixodidae). Journal of Medical Entomology,
41: 324–332.

Pinter, A. and Labruna, M.B. 2006. Isolation of Rickett-
sia rickettsii and Rickettsia bellii in cell culture
from the tick Amblyomma aureolatum in Brazil.
Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1078:
523 529.

Robinson L.E. 1926. Ticks. A monograph of the Ixodoi-
dea. Part IV. The genus Amblyomma. Cambridge
University Press, London, 302 pp.

Santos Dias, J.A.T. 1958. Notas Ixodológicas IV. Estu-
do de alguns espécimes — tipo de Schulze em
colecção no Museu de Hamburgo. Memorias y
Estudos do Museu Zoologico, Universidad da Coim-
bra, 250: 1–15.

Schulze, P. 1936. The Norwegian zoological expedition
to the Galapagos Islands 1925, conducted by Alf
Wollebaek. XIII. Die Ixodoidea der Galapagos-
Inseln. Meddelelser fra det Zoologiske Museum,
Oslo, 45: 155–162.

Schulze, P. 1941. Neues über brasilianische Amblyom-
men. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 134: 93–104.

Scott, J.D., Fernando, K., Banerjee, S.N., Durden, L.A.,
Byrne, S.K., Banerjee, M., Mann, R.B., Morshed,
M.G. 2001. Birds disperse ixodid (Acari: Ixodidae)
and Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ticks. Journal of
Medical Entomology, 38: 493–500.

Tonelli Rondelli, M. 1937. Ixodoidea. Parte I. Amblyo-
mma ovale Koch, Amblyomma cajennense Fabrici-
us e le specie a loro affini nuove o poco note. Rivista
di Parassitologia, 1: 273–300.

Tonelli Rondelli, M. 1939. Ixodoidea. Parte II. Contrib-
uto alla conoscenza della fauna ixodologica Sud-
Americana. Rivista di Parassitologia, 3:39–55.

Vargas, L., and Hoffmann, A. 1952. Amblyomma cas-
tanedai n. sp. de Mexico (Ixodidae). La Prensa
Médica Mexicana, 17: 128–130.

Venzal, J.M., Castro, M., Claramunt, S., Guglielmone,
A.A. 2003a. Primer registro de Amblyomma longi-
rostre (Acari: Ixodidae) en Uruguay. Parasitologia
Latinoamericana, 58: 72–74.

Venzal, J.M., Guglielmone, A.A., Estrada-Peña, A.,
Cabrera, P.A., and Castro, O. 2003b. Ticks (Ixod-
ida: Ixodidae) parasitising humans in Uruguay.
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 97:
769–772.

Venzal, J.M., Portillo, A., Estrada-Peña, A., Castro, O.,
Cabrera P.A., and Oteo, J.A. 2004. Rickettsia park-
eri in Amblyomma triste from Uruguay. Emerging
Infectious Diseases, 10: 1493–1495.

Voltzit, O.V. and Keirans, J.E. 2002. A review of Asian
Amblyomma species (Acari, Ixodida, Ixodidae).
Acarina, 10: 95–136.

Voltzit, O.V. and Keirans, J.E. 2003. A review of Afri-
can Amblyomma species (Acari, Ixodida, Ixodi-
dae). Acarina, 11: 135–214.

Walker, J.B., and Olwage, A. 1987. The tick vectors of
Cowdria ruminantium (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae, genus
Amblyomma) and their distribution. The Onderste-
poort Journal of Veterinary Research, 54: 353–379.