Ixodes montoyanus Cooley, 1944 (Acari: Ixodidae): molecular confirmation of immature and adult stages and redescription of male, nymph, and larva

ABSTRACT

Hard ticks of the genus Ixodes are one of the most diverse groups in the Neotropical region, but some species are known only from historical records. In Colombia and Venezuela, Ixodes montoyanus is known from records obtained more than 50 years ago. In this study, we performed morphological and molecular evaluations of immature and adult stages of I. montoyanus collected from Pudu (Pudella) mephistophiles, in the municipality of Puracé, Cauca, in the Andean region of Colombia. The results include the first morphological evaluations of larvae, nymphs, females and males of I. montoyanus, confirming each of these stages with their respective sequences of a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, and nymphs and females with a fragment of the mitochondrial cox1 gene. These results represent the first molecular information of I. montoyanus from Colombia, allowing differentiation of this species from others within Ixodes distributed in the country. The data generated consolidate valuable information for the genus Ixodes, which plays an important role in pathogen transmission. The information is also key to addressing the controversy regarding the identification, validity and distribution of various species within the genus.

KEYWORDS:

• Andes
• Colombia
• cryptic species
• pathogens
• Pudu mephistophiles

Acknowledgments

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación of Colombia – Minciencias for funding the PhD in Science-Biology of the student Paula Andrea Ossa López (PAOL) “Convocatoria del Fondo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Sistema General de Regalías para la conformación de una lista de proyectos elegibles para ser viabilizados, priorizados y aprobados por el OCAD dentro del Programa de Becas de Excelencia cohorte 1–2019”. Award “For Women in Science 2022” conducted in collaboration with L’Oréal, Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación of Colombia – Minciencias, ICETEX and La Comisión Nacional de Cooperación con la UNESCO. GAPF thanks the support of The Rufford Foundation with the grant “39245-B” and Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. We thank the Universidad de Caldas, and Parques Nacionales Naturals de Colombia and the local community of Puracé. T.F.M. was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP Process No. 2019/03167-0, 2020/05987-1).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by the Program “Relación, distribución, taxonomía de especies de garrapatas asociadas a mamíferos silvestres en zonas endémicas de rickettsiosis en Colombia. Un acercamiento a la comprensión de la relación vectores patógenos-reservorios”, granted by the Ministerio De Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación - Minciencias (Code: 120385270267 and CTO 80740- 200-2021) – Project “Garrapatas asociadas a mamíferos silvestres en el departamento de Caldas: Diversidad, detección de patógenos y distribución (Code: 71717)”; Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación of Colombia – Minciencias “Convocatoria del Fondo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Sistema General de Regalías para la conformación de una lista de proyectos elegibles para ser viabilizados, priorizados y aprobados por el OCAD dentro del Programa de Becas de Excelencia cohorte 1–2019”; and award “For Women in Science 2022” in collaboration with L’Oréal, Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación of Colombia – Minciencias, ICETEX and the Comisión Nacional de Cooperación con la UNESCO. GAPF was supported by The Rufford Foundation: grant 39245-B “Supporting local capacities for the conservation of threatened mammals in Purace National Park and surrounding areas.”