1Species and number of ticks collected from nine four-toed elephant shrews in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. http://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/243/90
Large numbers of R. appendiculatus, R. maculatus and R. muehlensi have previously been collected from nyalas, indicating not only that they are good hosts but also that the geographic distributions of the three tick species overlap in the study region (Table 2). Similarly, scrub hares have been found to be infested with fair numbers of the immature stages of these ticks, but the four-toed elephant shrews harboured only a single larva of each of R. appendiculatus and R. maculatus, and large numbers of larvae and nymphs of R. muehlensi.
2Host status of four-toed elephant shrews for three sympatric Rhipicephalus species in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. http://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/243/91
Walker et al. (2000) have placed R. muehlensi and R. maculatus within the R. appendiculatus group of ticks based on the morphology of their immature stages. This group consists of 11 species. The immature stages of each of these 11 species may infest scrub hares, but only those of R. appendiculatus have been collected, and then only in very small numbers, from elephant shrews (MacLeod 1970; Theiler 1962). The present collection of a single larva of each of R. appendiculatus and R. maculatus, in an environment in which these ticks abound, confirms that elephant shrews are not favoured hosts of the immature stages of ticks in this group. The collection of large numbers of R. muehlensi larvae and nymphs from four-toed elephant shrews is thus remarkable. Furthermore, the large numbers of engorged larvae and nymphs which were recovered, together with the fact that some of the nymphs had moulted to adults, imply that four-toed elephant shrews are excellent hosts of the immature stages of R. muehlensi. This host preference resembles that of the immature stages of the six species comprising the Rhipicephalus pravus group of ticks, all of which use elephant shrews as hosts (Clifford et al. 1973; Fourie et al. 2005; MacLeod 1970; Theiler 1962; Walker et al. 2000). Of the 79 nyalas examined in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, 16 harboured all stages of development of Haemaphysalis silacea (Horak et al. 1995b). This tick has never been recorded on an elephant shrew. Its presence in this study, albeit in small numbers, on five of the nine animals examined, suggests that four-toed elephant shrews can serve as hosts of the tick’s immature stages. Larvae and nymphs of the Haemaphysalis elliptica group of ticks have been collected in small numbers from rock elephant shrews (Fourie et al. 1992), and now also from four-toed elephant shrews. Their preferred hosts are, however, murid rodents (Braack et al. 1996; Fourie et al. 1992; Matthee et al. 2007). Southern African hedgehogs A total of 204 ticks belonging to three species were collected from the 12 examined animals, of which 11 were infested (Table 3). The majority of the ticks were adult Haemaphysalis colesbergensis, of which a large proportion of the females were engorged. An old male that harboured 55 male and 43 female H. colesbergensis was among the 11 infested animals. H. colesbergensis has been described only recently (Apanaskevich & Horak 2008) and is named after the town Colesberg (in the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province) where adult ticks have been collected from a dog, domestic cats, caracals (Caracal caracal) and an African wildcat (Felis silvestris). Their tick burdens are summarised in Table 4 for comparative purposes.
3Species and number of ticks collected from 12 Southern African hedge-hogs in the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province. http://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/243/92
4Hosts and number of Haemaphysalis colesbergensis collected from carnivores near Colesberg in the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province. http://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/downloadSuppFile/243/93
The numbers now recovered from the hedgehogs and the fact that several females were engorged indicate that these small mammals should also be considered preferred hosts of H. colesbergensis. Its presence on Southern African hedgehogs is not entirely unexpected, as hedgehogs seem to be one of the preferred hosts of ticks belonging to this genus. In fact, Haemaphysalis norvali, a species that appears to be specific to hedgehogs, has been described in Zimbabwe (Hoogstraal & Wassef 1983). To our knowledge H. norvali is not present in South Africa. A larva and five nymphs of the South African tortoise tick, Amblyomma marmoreum, were collected from four of the hedgehogs. The immature stages of A. marmoreum infest an extremely wide range of domestic and wild mammals and birds in South Africa (Horak et al. 2006) and hedgehogs are no exception (Theiler 1962). Although none were recovered now, the adults of Rhipicentor nuttalli also infest hedgehogs (Fourie et al. 2002; Norval & Colborne 1985; Theiler 1962) and several wild carnivores, of which the larger felids appear to be the hosts of choice (Horak, Heyne & Donkin 2010; Norval & Colborne 1985). The immature stages of R. nuttalli infest elephant shrews, of which the rock elephant shrew and the Cape elephant shrew are the most favoured (Fourie et al. 2002, 2005). ConclusionFour-toed elephant shrews are a new host record for the larvae and nymphs of R. muehlensi, a tick of which all stages of development infest nyalas in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Large numbers of adult H. colesbergensis may infest Southern African hedgehogs and several species of carnivores in the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province. The hedgehogs constitute a new host record for this tick species. Acknowledgements We thank the staff at Bonamanzi Game Park for their hospitality and assistance. 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