The tick genus Amblyomma Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) has received little attention in Malaysia; therefore, its associated hosts and distribution records are poorly known. In this study, we collected six Amblyomma sp. individuals (two larvae and four adults) that infested a common treeshrew, Tupaia glis (Diard, 1820) (Scandentia: Tupaiidae) caught in a recreational area in Sungai Lembing, Pahang (West Malaysia). The adult female ticks were morphologically identified according to taxonomic keys prior to molecular identification using cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rDNA genes. The ticks were genetically verified as Amblyomma geoemydae (Cantor, 1847) with 98%–99% similarity to the available GenBank sequences. Neighbor-joining (NJ) trees indicated that A. geoemydae was clearly distinguished from other Amblyomma ticks and this was supported with high bootstrap values. This paper is the first to report A. geoemydae ticks infesting T. glis and provides a new tick-host record from West Malaysia. This information is significant for further investigation, specifically on this tick species as potential vector of tick-borne disease (TBD) agents.
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28 April 2022
First Record of the Tortoise Tick, Amblyomma geoemydae (Cantor, 1847) (Acari: Ixodidae) Parasitizing a Tree Shrew, Tupaia glis (Scandentia: Tupaiidae) in West Malaysia
Ernieenor Faraliana Che Lah,
Ernna George,
Dmitry Apanaskevich,
Mariana Ahmad,
Salmah Yaakop
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Journal of Medical Entomology
Vol. 59 • No. 4
July 2022
Vol. 59 • No. 4
July 2022
Amblyomma geoemydae
COI
tortoise tick
Tupaia glis
vector