This paper provides an overview of the current knowledge of chlamydiae. These intracellular microorganisms belonging to the Chlamydiaceae family are widely distributed throughout the world. Constant development of culture-independent approaches for characterisation of microbial genomes enables new discoveries in the field of Chlamydia. The number of new taxa is continuously increasing as well as the range of hosts. New species and genotypes are constantly being discovered, particularly new avian and reptilian agents, which are discussed in this article. Interestingly, wild animals are the main hosts for new Chlamydia species including different species of bird, turtle and snake. The availability of next-generation sequencing opens up a new prospect for research and leads to deeper knowledge of these interesting microorganisms about which much is still to discover.

Ixodes (Afrixodes) matopi n. sp. is described from females and males collected off twigs bearing deposits of intraspecific communication marks secreted by the pre-orbital glands of the klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus and from laboratory-reared immature specimens. One female was also found on a goat. The 4 collections were all from Zimbabwe, 3 of them from Matabeleland South Province and the fourth from Inyanga District, Zimbabwe.

Orientostrongylus spp. (including 2 new species), descriptions and illustrations

Ixodes (Afrixodes) neitzi n. sp. is described from females and males collected from the mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. Information is provided to distinguish this new species from other closely related Ixodes species that occur in the Ethiopian region. Its predilection sites are noted and the area in which it occurs is described briefly.