Rhipicephalus gertrudae

Rhipicephalus gertrudae is a species of tick in the family Ixodidae.[1] The specific epithet honors South African parasitologist Dr. Gertrud Theiler.[2][1] The species was first circumscribed by Dr. Brouria Feldman-Muhsam.[2]

Rhipicephalus gertrudae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Subclass:
Acari
Order:
Parasitiformis
Family:
Ixodidae
Genus:
Rhipicephalus
Species:
R. gertrudae
Binomial name
Rhipicephalus gertrudae
Feldman-Muhsam, 1960

R. gertrudae is moderate-sized, about 4 mm in length, heavily punctate, and reddish-brown in color.[1] Adults are generalist hematophagous parasites, feeding primarily on domestic and wild herbivores such as cattle and sheep; the immatures are specialist hematophagous parasites of murid rodents.[3][4] Heavy infestations have caused infant mortality in Chacma baboons in Namibia, through infestation of the muzzle causing inflammation of the nose and mouth that prevents suckling.[1]

Distribution

Namibia and South Africa.[1][3]

References
  1. Jane B. Walker, James E. Keirans, and Ivan G. Horak. The Genus Rhipicephalus (Acari, Ixodidae): A guide to the Brown Ticks of the World, Cambridge University Press, https://books.google.com/books?id=M9fLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA193, pp. 193-199; "This species was named in honour of Dr Gertrud Theiler of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. In her day she was the doyenne of African tick workers. She is remembered with respect and gratitude, not only for her contributions to our understanding of these parasites but also for her readiness to share her knowledge and experience with others."
  2. Brouria Feldman-Muhsam. 1960. The South African Ticks Rhipicephalus capensis Koch and R. gertrudae n. sp. Journal of Parasitology, 46(1):101-108; "We propose to call the new species R. gertrudae in honor of Dr. Gertrud Theiler, through whose courtesy most of our material was obtained."
  3. "Ivan G. Horak, Heloise Heyne, Roy Williams, G. James Gallivan, Arthur M. Spickett, J. Dürr Bezuidenhout, and Agustín Estrada-Peña. 2018. The Ixodid Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Southern Africa, Springer, pp. 365-366; https://books.google.com/books?id=2TtMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA365, accessed June 30, 2018.
  4. Peter A. Mbati, Motseki Hlatshwayo, Moses S. Mtshali, Kagiso R. Mogaswane, Theo D. De Waal and Olusegun O. Dipeolu. 2002. Ticks and tick-borne diseases of livestock belonging to resource-poor farmers in the eastern Free State of South Africa. Experimental and Applied Acarology 28: 217-224, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-3526-1_21, accessed June 30, 2018.


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