New records for Amblyomma rotundatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae) from the cane toad, Rhinella marina L. in Florida, with notes on identification of the nymphs
2015
Goddard, Jerome | Ward, Chelsea | Dagg, Jasmine | Mendonça, Mary | Robbins, Richard G.
Sixty-one cane toads, R. marina, were captured by hand at four locations in Dade County, Florida, on May 9 (n=32) and September 3 (n=29) 2014. Toads were examined for ectoparasites and any ticks seen were removed and placed in 95% ethanol. Of the 61 toads, 8 (13.1%) collected in two separate locations were found with attached Amblyomma sp. A total of 31 ticks (12 nymphs, 19 larvae) were removed from the toads, ranging from 1–13 specimens collected per toad. In the case of 3 nymphal specimens found in our study, precise identification could not be made by conventional light microscopy due to obscured or unclear characters; therefore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on these specimens to aid in identification. SEM analysis revealed an internal spur, albeit tiny, on coxa II of the specimens in question, but no spur was seen on coxa III. Published key characters for A. rotundatum state that, “a small internal spur is present on each of coxa II and III.” Despite this published description, we concluded that the presence of a small spur on coxa II in this case was diagnostic for A. rotundatum.
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