Ectoparasites: immature Japanese hard ticks (Ixodes nipponensis; Acari: Ixodidae) on Korean lizards

초록

Although lizards are important hosts for hard ticks (Ixodidae), very few studies have been conducted in South Korea. To determine whether or not hard ticks can infest lizards endemic to South Korea, we examined 77 lizards of four species (Eremias argus, Sincella vandenburghi, Takydromus amurensis, and Takydromus wolteri) that were collected at 22 different sites between April and October 2010. We confirmed that all four lizard species can be infested by Ixodes nipponensis larvae or nymphs. Of the 62 E. argus examined, we found an average of 12.5 larvae on two lizards and an average of one nymph on one lizard. We found seven nymphs on one S. vandenburghi. We found an average of two nymphs on two of the five T. amurensis and an average of one nymph on four of the nine T. wolteri. Ixodes nipponensis larvae and nymphs were found most frequently on the foreleg axillae (87.8%), followed by the forelegs (7.3%), the eyelids (2.4%),and the ears (2.4%) of the lizards. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of I. nipponensis infestations of lizards endemic to South Korea.

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