Haemaphysalis Verticalis Itagaki, Noda, and Yamaguchi: Rediscovery in China, Adult and Immature Identity, Rodent Hosts, Distribution and Medical Relationships (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae).

摘要

Haemaphysalis verticalis Itagaki, Noda, and Yamaguchi was described in 1944 from two females parasitizing a domestic dog in Shansi, China. Except for a recent note by the first author of the present paper, this taxon has otherwise not been mentioned in literature. We redescribe the female and describe the male, nymph, and larva from specimens taken in southeastern China, mostly from susliks (ground squirrels), Citellus dauricus ramosus Thomas, and fewer from the long-clawed jird, Meriones unguiculatus subsp. The subgeneric position of this unusual tick species is uncertain. The adults are remarkable in this genus for having a 3/3 dental formula and for remaining in burrows to parasitize rodents, an unusual haemaphysalid life pattern that may be important in maintaining circulation of infectious agents in a rodent population. Haemaphysalis ticks reported by workers in northeastern China to have been infected by the agent of plague are likely to have been H. verticalis, and the suslik is considered to be the chief reservoir of plague in this area. (Author)