1 72 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS TICKS OF THE GENUS AMBLYOMMA (ACARI: IXODIDA: IXODIDAE) FROM WHITE-LIPPED PECCARIES, TAYASSU PECARI, IN NORTHEASTERN BOLIVIA, WITH COMMENTS ON HOST SPECIFICITY 1 Richard G. Robbins, 2 William B. Karesh 3 R. Lilian E. Painter^ 5 Susan Rosenberg 3 ABSTRACT: Adults of the ixodid ticks Amblyomma cajennense, A. naponense, A. oblongo-guttatum, and A. pecarium are reported from Bolivian populations of the white-lipped peccary, Tayassu pecari. These are the first published records of A. naponense and A. pecarium from Bolivia. Infestations of the three most numerous tick species on T. pecari are shown to be statis-tically independent of host age and sex. It is suggested that in some species of Amblyomma, host specificity may manifest itself chiefly at the preimaginal level, diminishing or disappearing in adults. It has often been noted that ticks of the genus Amblyomma parasitize all classes of terrestrial vertebrates, but that among those specific to mammals, adults are generally more common on large herbivores, while immatures in-fest much smaller mammals (e.g., rodents) or even birds (Hoogstraal 1973, Hoogstraal and Aeschlimann 1982, Hoogstraal 1985). Less often reported are data on the frequency or extent of multi-species assemblages of adult Am-blyomma on large mammal hosts (Fairchild et al. 1966, Matthysse and Colbo 1987, Walker and Olwage 1987). In February of 1996, and again in February of 1997, one of us (WBK) traveled to the Lago Caiman research camp ( 1 3.35S, 60.54W), Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, in the northeastern corner of the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to assess the health of three herds of 15-40 white-lipped peccaries, Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795), that had been caught as groups in a 0.405 ha capture corral. Tayassu pecari occurs from southern Mexico to northeastern Argentina, but because the large tracts of wilderness on which it depends are rapidly being fragmented, this species has disappeared or become rare in the northern and southern portions of its range and is now listed in appendix 2 (species not necessarily threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is subjected to strict regulation) of the Con-vention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1 Received August 7, 1997. Accepted August 30, 1997. 2 Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307-5001. 3 Field Veterinary Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th Street and Southern Boule-vard, Bronx, NY 10460-1099. 4 Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. 5 Proyecto BOLFOR, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. ENT. NEWS 109(3) 172-176, May & June, 1998
Ticks Of The Genus Amblyomma (Acari : Ixodida : Ixodidae) From White lipped Peccaries, Tayassu Pecari, In Northeastern Bolivia, With Comments On Host Specificity
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