Do parapatric populations of the ticks Amblyomma tonelliae Nava, Beati & Labruna, 2014 and Amblyomma sculptum Berlese, 1888 (Acari: Ixodidae) hybridize?

This work aimed to determine if the tick species, Amblyomma sculptum and Amblyomma tonelliae, hybridize along their contact zones in Argentina. Free-living adults and nymphs of A. sculptum and A. tonelliae were collected in seven sampling locations of northern Argentina. In four of them, the two species occur in parapatry (possible hybrid zone) whereas in the other three sites, only one species is known to occur. A total of 65 A. sculptum and 65 A. tonelliae from both, allopatric and parapatric populations, were analysed. The nuclear (ITS2) and mitochondrial (COI and 12SrDNA) gene sequences of each tick were amplified and analysed to verify whether or not they could reveal the presence of hybrids among the parapatric samples. No morphological and molecular evidence was found to support the hypothesis of ongoing natural hybridization. Intrinsic postzygotic barriers may be the cause of lack of gene flow between the two species in areas of co-ocurrence. The results can be explained by the length of time the two lineages spent in allopatry since the middle of the Miocene and before their respective distribution range expanded again reaching a narrow secondary contact zone.

Factors associated with hard tick (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitism in medium-sized mammals in the Atlantic Rainforest region of Argentina.

Associations with environmental and host parameters were assessed to describe tick parasitism patterns in two medium-sized mammals of the Atlantic rainforest region of Argentina. Ticks found on 93 specimens of Nasua nasua and 26 specimens of Didelphis aurita captured at six sites in the Iguazú National Park were collected. Generalized linear models were constructed to explain the presence and abundance of ticks and the most appropriate ones were selected after stepwise simplification. The season, site and host body mass variables were important to explain the abundance of Amblyomma coelebs nymphs, while site was important to describe larval abundance of this species. Season was the most important variable for larvae and nymphs of Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, while Amblyomma brasiliense nymphs were associated with host age. Amblyomma ovale larvae were related to host age, and adult ticks with host sex. The results indicate that these medium-sized mammals are important to support the immature tick stages and that both host and environmental factors may be associated with parasite loads.

Redescription of Amblyomma varium Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) based on light and scanning electron microscopy.

Amblyomma varium Koch, 1844 is a Neotropical tick, known as the 'sloth's giant tick', with records from southern Central America to Argentina. It is found almost exclusively on mammals of the families Bradypodidae and Magalonychidae (Xenarthra). Differences exist in discussions with regard to the dentition of the female hypostome being either 3/3 or 4/4. The male was also originally described as having a short spur on coxa IV, but some specimens recently collected from different Brazilian localities have this spur three times longer. These differences beg the question of whether there is more than one species included under this taxon. In order to answer this question and to clarify the taxonomic characters of this species, 258 adult specimens were examined, and a redescription of male and female based on light and scanning electron microscopy is provided. In addition, DNA was extracted from males with either a long or a short spur on coxa IV to help settle this question for future investigations on their taxonomy. The morphological study showed that the dental formula pattern for males and females is 3/3 and 4/4, respectively. When sequenced, the 12 S rDNA genes of both A. varium males with long and short spurs on coxa IV were found to be identical, indicating that the length of the spurs on coxa IV is likely to be an intraspecifically polymorphic character of this species.

Ação da doramectina injetável sobre Haematobia irritans em bovinos naturalmente infestados: resultados de observaçöes simultâneas no Brasil e Argentina / Action of injectable doramectin on Haematobia irritans incattle naturally infested: results of simultaneous observations in Brazil and Argentina

Um teste de campo, realizado simultaneamente no Brasil (Eldorado do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul) e Argentina (Rafaela, Santa Fé), avaliou o comportamento da doramectina injetável sobre insetos adultos de Haematobia irritans. Em ambos os locais, utilizaram-se 40 animais (20 vacas e 20 novilhas), sendo que 20 foram tratados e 20 permaneceram como controle. Realizaram-se contagens de moscas nos dias 0, 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28 e 35 pós-tratamento. Em comparaçäo com o grupo controle, a eficácia observada no Brasil foi inferior a 50 por cento no dia 1, e 84,4, 72,6, 81,4, 74,2, 79,2, 50,7 e 64,7 por cento nos demais dias de observaçäo enquanto na Argentina, foi de 97,3, 84,2, 95,9, 92,2, 93,6, 63,3, 73, 8 e 66,9 por cento, respectivamente. Em ambos os países, ocorreu uma contribuiçäo dessa avermectina para a diminuiçäo da populaçäo de insetos adultos de H. irritans embora os resultados obtidos no Brasil tenham apresentado uma eficácia menor que os constatados na Argentina