List of soft ticks (Acari, Argasidae) in bat caves, including new records of species occurrence for the Caatinga biome

Abstract

Species distribution patterns are important aspects of biogeography and conservation and are especially important in environments that have been under-investigated, such as caves in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. We collected argasid specimens from the guano of insectivorous bats in five caves of the Caatinga biome and identified six soft tick species of the genera Antricola and Ornithodorus. Ornithodoros rodoniensis was recorded for the first time in the Caatinga biome and had previously only been known to occur in the Amazon.

Keywords

• Ixodida
• Ornithodoros
• Antricola
• semiarid
• Neotropical