Amblyomma nodosum Neumann, 1899

Benavides-Montaño, Javier Antonio, Betancourt-Echeverri, Jesus Antonio, Valencia, Gustavo López & Mesa-Cobo, Nora Cristina, 2022, A review of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Colombia: The risk of tick-borne diseases, Persian Journal of Acarology 11 (3), pp. 397-437 : 406

Amblyomma nodosum Neumann, 1899 ( Fig. 4)

This tick has been reported in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, south of Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2006; Onofrio et al. 2006; Voltzit 2007). It commonly infests mammals from the order Xenarthra , such as Myrmecophaga tetradactyla , Tamandua tetradactyla , and Tamandua mexicana ( Fairchild 1943; Fairchild et al. 1966; Guimarães et al. 2001; Martins et al. 2004; Bermudez et al. 2010; Mazioli et al. 2012). Amblyomma nodosum is an important vector of R. bellii and R. parkeri ( Ogrzewalska et al. 2009) . The mature stages parasitize M. tridactyla and T. tetradactyla (anteater). Birds are the hosts of the immature stages ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2006). Amblyomma nodosum could be misidentified as A. calcaratum when both of them are present in the same host due to similarities regarding taxonomic characteristics and morphometrics ( Guzmán-Cornejo et al. 2006; Onofrio et al. 2006). It has been reported in Colombia as both A. calcaratum on T. tetradactyla and A.nodosum on a bird commonly named “toche negro” ( Ramphocelus carbo ) ( Wramc 1998). Osorno-Mesa described three females collected from T. tetradactyla in Restrepo, Meta ( Osorno-Mesa 1942; Rojas-Díaz et al. 2012). This species has also been reported parasitizing Myrmecophaga spp. (anteaters) and birds Ramphocelus cardo (sangre toro) (Lopez 2017). Amblyomma nodosum has two pale spots: one in the back corner and an irregular one in a Y shape, on each side. The base of the capitulum is slightly rectangular. A full description of these ticks has been made by Osorno-Mesa and Fairchild and Guzmán ( Osorno-Mesa 1942; Fairchild 1943; Guzmán-Cornejo et al. 2006). In the Quindio Department, Colombia, an Amblyomma sp. – probably A. nodosum – collected from T. tetradactyla was described ( Torres-Mejía and De La Fuente 2006). Amblyomma nodosum was recently reported in Valle of Cauca at the Reserva Forestal - Bosque de Yotoco – Universidad Nacional de Colombia 76° 26' 25" W, 3° 50' 48.6" N at 1560 m a.s.l. deposited as 001-5, 001-6 at CEUNP ( Benavides-Montaño et al. 2018). Normally, the distribution of these T. tetradatyla ranges from sea level to 2000 m a.s.l.; they are found in the eastern Andes of Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad Island, the Guianas ( French Guiana, Guyana, and Surinam), south to northern Uruguay, and northern Argentina, which is consistent with the records currently available. For this tick, new updates, geographic distribution, ecology and pathogenic role in humans are required.