Research Communication

Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis)

Edward Kariuki, Hellen Kutima, Michael Kock, Ivan G. Horak, Roaland Jooste, Luis Neves
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 86, No 1 | a1781 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v86i1.1781 | © 2019 Edward Kariuki, Hellen Kutima, Michael Kock, Ivan G. Horak, Roaland Jooste, Luis Neves | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 18 April 2019 | Published: 06 November 2019

About the author(s)

Edward Kariuki, Department of Veterinary Services, Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya; and, School of Biomedical Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya
Hellen Kutima, Department of Zoology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya
Michael Kock, International Wildlife Veterinary Services, Greyton, South Africa
Ivan G. Horak, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Roaland Jooste, Animal Health Division, Bayer (Pty) Ltd, Isando, Johannesburg, South Africa
Luis Neves, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Eight ixodid tick species were collected from 173 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Kenya, northern Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and two species were collected from six African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the Republic of Congo. A new host record is reported for Amblyomma eburneum. A list of ticks collected from elephants in various African countries, and stored in the United States National Tick Collection, is supplied as well as an annotated checklist of the 27 ixodid tick species that have been collected from African elephants. The geographic distributions and alternative hosts of the various tick species collected from elephants are briefly discussed.

Keywords

African savanna elephants; African forest elephants; ixodid ticks; Republic of Congo; Kenya

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