Laniger bat tick (Ixodes lanigeri), new hard tick species (Ixodidae) from mouse-eared bats (Myotis) in Vietnam

NEWS - Researchers have identified Ixodes ticks from Vietnam based on morphological and molecular characteristics of females, nymphs and larvae as a new species, laniger bat tick (Ixodes lanigeri), which like other members of the Ixodes ariadnae complex appears to show a preference for vesper bats as a typical host.

Historically, for more than a century and a half, only one species has been called the “long-legged bat tick”: Ixodes vespertilionis Koch. However, over the past decade, it has been molecularly recognized that long-legged ixodid ticks associated with bats may represent at least six species.

Host associations and geographic separation may explain the evolutionary divergence of the new species from its closest living relative Murina hilgendorfi Peters in East Asia, Japan, as no Myotis or Murina spp. have overlapping distributions between Vietnam and the Japanese mainland.

On the other hand, assuming that I. lanigeri may be present in other myotine bats and knowing that some Myotis species native to Vietnam have a wide geographic range in South and Southeast Asia, this new tick species is likely to have a wider distribution.

I. lanigeri is a medium-sized, light brown, prostrate tick with a teardrop-shaped female body. Legs are long. The bases of the capituli are pentagonal dorsally, the palps are short and the hypostome is medium-sized. The scutum is inverted pentagonal, widest in the middle, rounded posteriorly, with a long, deep and curved cervical groove.

Pairwise comparisons showed 5.1% divergence of the cox1 gene sequence and 2.9% of the 16S rRNA from I. fujitai and 11.18% divergence of the cox1 gene sequence and 5.7% of the 16S rRNA from I. ariadnae. There are only 2 bp differences in the amplification of the cox1 and 16S rRNA genes between larvae, nymphs and females of I. lanigeri. The complete mitogenome of I. lanigeri is 95.4% identical to that of I. fujitai.

Known host species are Myotis alticraniatus and M. laniger. Known geographic range is northern Vietnam. The new species name refers to the host species, Chinese water myotis (M. laniger) from which the first specimen of the new species was obtained.

Original research

Hornok S, Kontschán J, Takano A, Gotoh Y, Hassanin A, Tu VT (2024). Description of Ixodes lanigeri sp. nov., a new hard tick species (Acari, Ixodidae) collected from mouse-eared bats (Vespertilionidae, Myotis) in Vietnam. ZooKeys 1215: 107-125, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1215.123624

Dlium theDlium

Limestone beads (Jacquemontia paniculata)

Limestone beads ( Jacquemontia paniculata ) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae. It is a herbaceous, twining climbing plant with cylindrical, branched, green stems. It grows in shrubs, teak forest floors, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. J. paniculata has arrow-shaped, green leaves with a central main vein and numerous pinnate minor veins. The leaves are up to 9 cm long, 7 cm wide, and have stalks up to 5 cm long. The flowers are star-shaped, about 1 cm in diameter, and bluish-white. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Convolvulaceae Subfamily: Dichondroideae Tribe: Jacquemontieae Genus: Jacquemontia Choisy in Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 476 (1833 publ. 1834) Species: Jacquemontia paniculata (Burm.f.) Hallier f. in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 18: 95 (1893) Variety: Jacquemontia paniculata var. grandiflora Ooststr., Jacquemontia paniculata var. lanceolata S.H.Huang, Jacquemontia paniculata v...

Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea)

Sunn hemp ( Crotalaria juncea ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family, erect, woody shrub, growing up to 2 meters tall, cylindrical stems, angular, green with white hairs. The leaves are elongated, green and thick, up to 20 cm long and up to 4 cm wide. The petioles are up to 1 cm long. The inflorescences are yellow in long panicles. The fruit is an elongated, oval capsule, 3 cm long, with a 1 cm stalk and white hairs. The seeds are shiny, 2-3 mm long capsules. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Crotalarieae Genus: Crotalaria L. in Sp. Pl.: 714 (1753) Species: Crotalaria juncea L. in Sp. Pl.: 714 (1753) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Crotalaria benghalensis Lam. in Encycl. 2: 196 (1786) Crotalaria cannabinua Royle in Ill. Bot. Himal. Mts.: 82 (1834) Crotalaria fenestrata Sims in Bot. Mag. 44: t. 1933 (1817) Crotalaria juncea var. bengalensis (Lam.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. ...

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...

Dlium