New host records of Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Acari: Ixodidae) on birds in Brazil.

Birds are an important component of the life histories and bioecology of a number of tick species and of some tick associated pathogens. An examination of the data concerning bird/tick associations in the Neotropics, showed that the tick Haemaphysalis leporispalustrisis (Packard, 1869) was rarely recorded infesting birds. The current study reports parasitism by H. leporispalustris in wild birds collected from Atlantic rain forest environments in the states of Rio de Janeiro (4LL) and Minas Gerais (17LL, 1NN), Brazil. All ticks were identified morphologically to the genus level; total DNA was extracted from each Haemaphysalis tick and examined by PCR and nucleotide sequencing of fragments of the eukaryotic genes encoding 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA. The bird species Arremon semitorquatus, Corythopis delalandi, Fluvicola nengeta, Troglodytes musculus, and Volatinia jacarina were recorded as hosts for H. leporispalustris for the first time in South America, and Turdus rufiventris represented a new record for Brazil.