Apanaskevich Dmitry A, McCooey Elizabeth M, Greiman Stephen E, Apanaskevich Maria A, Ahmed Rokeya, Yessinou Roland E, Matloa Dikeledi, Chitimia-Dobler Lidia, Mans Ben J, Horak Ivan G
United States National Tick Collection, The James H. Oliver, Jr. Institute for Coastal Plain Science, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, 30460-7982, USA.
Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, 30460, USA.
Syst Parasitol. 2025 Aug 2;102(5):49. doi: 10.1007/s11230-025-10242-y.
The identity of Ixodes (Afrixodes) ugandanus Neumann, 1906 (Acari: Ixodidae) is established and its male and female are redescribed based on specimens collected on rodents (Rodentia: Muridae, Thryonomyidae) in Ethiopia and Uganda. Lectotype of I. ugandanus is designated here. Ixodes (Afrixodes) ampullaceus Warburton, 1933 is reestablished as a valid species and its female is redescribed based on specimens collected on rodents (Rodentia: Thryonomyidae), carnivorans (Carnivora: Viverridae) and a bird (Galliformes: Numididae) in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Ixodes mossambicensis Santos Dias, 1952 is synonymized with I. ampullaceus. Male and female of Ixodes (Afrixodes) aulacodi Arthur, 1956 are redescribed in greater detail based on specimens collected on rodents (Rodentia: Thryonomyidae) in Benin, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. All available literature data on these taxa are critically analyzed and discussed. We sequenced the mitochondrial genome of I. aulacodi, compared it to other Ixodes Latreille, 1795 species, and according to our phylogeny from 10 protein-coding mitochondrial genes of 33 Ixodes species, I. aulacodi forms a clade with the only other Afrixodes Morel, 1966 having a sequenced complete mitochondrial genome, Ixodes rubicundus Neumann, 1904.