Wikipedia

Rhipicephalus pulchellus

The zebra tick or yellow back tick (Rhipicephalus pulchellus) is a species of hard tick. It is common in the Horn of Africa, with a habitat of the Rift Valley and eastward. It feeds upon a wide variety of species, including livestock, wild mammals, and humans, and can be a vector for various pathogens. The adult male has a distinctive black and ivory ornamentation on its scutum.

Rhipicephalus pulchellus
Dorsal view of male.
Dorsal view of female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Ixodida
Family: Ixodidae
Genus: Rhipicephalus
Species:
R. pulchellus
Binomial name
Rhipicephalus pulchellus
Synonyms[8]: 160 
  • Dermacentor pulchellus Gerstäcker, 1873[4]
  • Rhipicephalus marmoreus Pocock, 1900[5]
  • Rhipicephalus (Eurhipephalus) pulchellus[6]
  • Eurhipephalus pulchellus[7]
  • Rhipicephalus (Lamellicauda) pulchellus
  • Rhipicephalus (Tendeirodes) pulchellus

Taxonomy and names edit

 
Male in Gerstaecker's description[4]
 
Male in Pocock's description[5]

Rhipicephalus pulchellus was described by Carl Eduard Adolph Gerstaecker, who initially placed it in the genus Dermacentor[4] due to the ornamentation;[9]: 40  all Dermacentor ticks are ornate.[2]: 29  Its syntypes are at the Museum für Naturkunde.[10] Georges Neumann [fr] transferred this species to Rhipicephalus in 1897.[11][12] R. I. Pocock described a junior synonym, R. marmoreus, in 1900; its holotype was deposited at the Natural History Museum, London.[5] By 1901, Neumann had synonymized it with R. pulchellus.[13]

In 1926, Maria Tonelli-Rondelli described a subspecies R. p. humeralis, but in 1949, Fritz Konrad Ernst Zumpt reclassified it as its own species, R. humeralis.[9]: 220 

In 1904, Neumann circumscribed a new subgenus, (Eurhipicephalus), and included among its species R. (E.) pulchellus.[6] Aldo Castellani and Albert J. Chalmers then referred to this species as Eurhipicephalus pulchellus, treating Neumann's subgenus as its own genus.[7][14] B. I. Pomerantsev circumscribed a new Rhipicephalus subgenus (Lamellicauda) in 1936, which included R. (L.) pulchellus.[14][8]

J. A. T. Santos Dias circumscribed a subgenus, (Tendeirodes) including R. (T.) pulchellus and the three other rhipicephalids with ornamentation, i.e., R. (T.) dux, R. (T.) humeralis, and R. (T.) maculatus, but this subgenus is not recognized by Jane Brotherton Walker and colleagues.[9]: 156  In 1998, Pierre-Claude Morel created a pulchellus species group within the nominate subgenus (Rhipicephalus) consisting of these four species.[8]: 159–160 

Based on the larval and nymphal forms of Rhipicephalus species, Walker and colleagues placed R. pulchellus in the R. appendiculatus species group, consisting of R. appendiculatus, R. armatus, R. carnivoralis, R. duttoni, R. humeralis, R. maculatus, R. muehlensi, R. nitens, R. pulchellus, R. sculptus, and R. zambeziensis.[9]: 602 

In Neumann's 1901 description of R. maculatus,[13]: 273–274  he mistakenly described female specimens of R. pulchellus as representing the female of this new species.[15][12][8]

The specific epithets pulchellus and marmoreus are Latin adjectives meaning "beautiful little" and "made or consisting of marble", respectively; the word pulchellus is a diminutive of pulcher "beautiful".[16][17] These refer to the male scutal pattern.[9]: 365  It is also known by the common name "zebra tick"[18] both due to its black and white ornamentation and having the zebra as a frequent host.[19] It is also sometimes known as the "yellow-backed tick".[20][21]

Description edit

Adult male edit

 
Variation in the ornamentation patterns of the male.[18]

The males have ivory ornamentation surrounding the edge of the conscutum and much of its center.[9]: 47  The male gnathosoma is significantly longer than it is broad, with dimensions of .84 mm × .69 mm (0.033 in × 0.027 in) to 1.07 mm × .83 mm (0.042 in × 0.033 in). Its conscutum measures 3.44 mm × 2.29 mm (0.135 in × 0.090 in) to 4.61 mm × 3.14 mm (0.181 in × 0.124 in).[9]: 367 

Adult female edit

 
Large "extreme" of female R. pulchellus, showing dorsal and ventral views as well as its tarsus IV.[18]

The female gnathosoma is slightly longer than it is broad, with dimensions of .8 mm × .77 mm (0.031 in × 0.030 in) to 1.02 mm × .98 mm (0.040 in × 0.039 in). Its scutum measure 1.82 mm × 1.68 mm (0.072 in × 0.066 in) to 2.5 mm × 2.17 mm (0.098 in × 0.085 in). Its scutum is mostly ivory colored and its alloscutum is dark brown.[9]: 367 

Hosts edit

This tick has been found on many species, including both livestock and wild animals, particularly ungulates; common hosts include Burchell's and Grevy's zebras, the black rhinoceros, and antelopes such as the gemsbok, eland, and hartebeest.[9]: 371  In one study conducted in Kenya, hundreds of specimens were found on Masai giraffes.[22]

They have been found on baboons in the Amboseli region of Kenya near Mount Kilimanjaro, although they only made up 1.8% of all ticks recorded in this study.[23] These ticks have also been known to have elephants as their hosts.[24]

Although they far less frequently parasitize birds than they do mammals, examples exist of the ostrich and the yellow-necked francolin as hosts for this species, as well.[9]: 373 

It is a very common tick of cattle; in some parts of Ethiopia, 90% of all ticks collected from cattle and camels are R. pulchellus. This tick is present on 80% of cattle, and individuals are hosts to over 1000 of this tick each.[25]

In one study, adult ticks were found on their hosts' neck and belly (45%), head (36%), forelegs (7%), hump region (13%), and hing legs (3%), with immature ticks found on the head and forelegs.[22]

Humans edit

 
Ulcer from R. pulchellus bite[21]

Immatures have been known to host on legs of humans.[9]: 371  The tick has been described as having a "strong affinity for human being"; ulcers generally form where larvae and nymphs feed on humans, and adults have also been found feeding on humans.[26]

Disease transmission edit

Many pathogens harmful to humans and other animals can be transmitted by this tick.[9]: 374–375  The Dugbe virus has been isolated from R. pulchellus collected from sheep in Ethiopia.[27] There is also evidence that this tick can transmit Rickettsia conorii as guinea pigs tested positive for its antibodies after being fed on.[28] One study suggested a possible link between this tick and typhus due to a similar distribution in Kenya, although transmission was unsuccessful in laboratory settings.[26]

The Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus has been extracted from this tick.[25] The West Nile virus has also been extracted from R. pulchellus.[29]

It has also been shown to transmit Nairobi sheep disease,[25] and is likely its main vector in northern Somalia.[30] It is the main vector for the Kismayo virus.[31] The piroplasm Theileria taurotragi has R. pulchellus as one of its main vectors.[32]

Predators edit

The red-billed oxpecker regularly eats this tick.[33]

Habitat and distribution edit

This tick inhabits the Afrotropical biogeographic realm.[34] It has been reported in the Palearctic, namely in the Giza Governorate, Egypt,[35] but some researchers are hesitant about listing the Palearctic in its distribution based on just that report.[34]

Adult ticks looking for hosts inhabit scrub and long-grass areas.[22]

It occurs in the Horn of Africa, particularly in the Rift Valley and eastward.[9]

It lives between elevations of 500 and 2,000 m (1,600 and 6,600 ft) in semiarid bushlands and plains with an annual rainfall of 100–800 mm (3.9–31.5 in).[25]

One study predicted that its habitat range will increase throughout 2100 due to climate change.[36]

It is most active during the rainy season.[25]

Population edit

It was the most common tick in one study conducted in Haller Park, Kenya.[22] In the early 1900s, it was very common in Kenya's Athi Plains, and also found near Nairobi, Kiambu, and Ruiru,[37] and is the predominant tick collected from grass in the Kilimani area of Nairobi in a 1935 study.[26] One long-term study conducted in Laikipia, Kenya involved people walking for 400 m (1,300 ft) and counting the number of ticks found on their clothing; the average number of R. pulchellus adults peaked at three.[38]

As introduced species edit

R. pulchellus has been reported as being found on animals such as giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, and others that were imported into the United States,[39] but it does not seem to have become established anywhere in the Nearctic realm.[34]

References edit

  1. ^ Horak, Ivan G.; Camicas, Jean-Louis; Keirans, James E. (2002). "The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida): A World List of Valid Tick Names". Experimental and Applied Acarology. 28 (1–4): 52. doi:10.1023/A:1025381712339. PMID 14570115. S2CID 23031084.
  2. ^ a b Barker, S. C.; Murrell, A. (2008). "Systematics and evolution of ticks with a list of valid genus and species names". In Bowman, Alan S.; Nuttall, Patricia A. (eds.). Ticks: Biology, Disease and Control. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 24. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511551802.002. ISBN 9780511551802.
  3. ^ Guglielmone, Alberto A.; Robbins, Richard G.; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Petney, Trevor N.; Estrada-Peña, Agustín; Horak, Ivan G.; Shao, Renfu; Barker, Stephen C. (2010). "The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida) of the world: a list of valid species names" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2528: 25. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2528.1.1. hdl:11336/97869.
  4. ^ a b c Gerstaecker, A. (1873). "Dermacentor pulchellus, n. sp.". Gliederthiere (Insekten, Arachniden, Myriopoden und Isopoden). Baron Carl Claus von der Deckens reisen in Ost-Afrika. Vol. 3. Leipzig: C. F. Winter. pp. 467–468, Pl. 18, Fig. 2.
  5. ^ a b c Pocock, R. I. (1900). "On a Collection of Insects and Arachnids made in 1895 and 1897, by Mr. C. V. A. Peel, F.Z.S., in Somaliland, with Descriptions of new Species: Chilopoda and Arachnida". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1900 (1): 50; Pl. 3, Figs. 1–1d. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1890.tb01694.x.
  6. ^ a b Neumann, L. G. (1904). "Notes sur les Ixodidés. — II". Archives de Parasitologie. 8 (3): 448–449.
  7. ^ a b Castellani, Aldo; Chalmers, Albert J. (1919). Manual of Tropical Medicine (3rd ed.). London: Ballière, Tindall and Cox. p. 713.
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  29. ^ Lwande, O.W.; Venter, M.; Lutomiah, J.; Michuki, G.; Rumberia, C.; Gakuya, F.; Obanda, V.; Tigoi, C.; Odhiambo, C.; Nindo, F.; Sang, R. (2014). "Genetic Diversity of West Nile virus Isolated from the tick, Rhipicephalus pulchellus, in Kenya". International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 21: 229–230. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2014.03.899.
  30. ^ Edelsten, R. M. (1975). "The distribution and prevalence of Nairobi Sheep disease and other tick-borne infections of sheep and goats in northern Somalia". Tropical Animal Health and Production. 7 (1): 29–34. doi:10.1007/BF02383239. S2CID 19485033.
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Further reading edit

External links edit

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