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Issue: Vol. 5719 No. 1: 11 Nov. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-11-11
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5719.1.2
Page range: 49-72
Abstract views: 25
PDF downloaded: 1

Description of all stages of a new tick species from California, Haemaphysalis vespertina (Acari: Ixodidae), with redescription of H. leporispalustris Packard, 1869 adults and phylogenetic relationships among related U.S. taxa

Center for Vector Biology; Department of Entomology; Rutgers University; 180 Jones Avenue; New Brunswick; NJ; USA 08901-8536; Former affiliation: Tick-borne Diseases Laboratory; Monmouth County Mosquito Control Division; 1901 Wayside Road; Tinton Falls; NJ 07724-4451
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela (INTA EEA Rafaela); and Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Lactea (IDICAL; INTA-CONICET) CC 22; CP 2300 Rafaela; Santa Fe; Argentina
San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District; 1351 Rollins Rd; Burlingame; CA 94010
California Department of Public Health; Vector-Borne Disease Section; 850 Marina Bay Parkway; Richmond; CA 94804
USDA-ARS; Cattle Fever Tick Research Unit; 22675 N. Moorefield Rd; Edinburg; Texas 78541
Office of Mosquito Control Coordination; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Mail Code 501-03; 501 East State Street; PO Box 420; Trenton; NJ 08625
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology; Oklahoma State University; 127 Noble Research Center; Stillwater; OK 74078
Vector-Borne Disease Branch; Defense Centers for Public Health–Aberdeen; DHA Public Health; 8300 Ricketts Point Rd. Bldg E- 2850; APG Edgewood; MD 21010
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; 125 Worth Street; New York; NY 10013
MaineHealth Institute for Research; 81 Research Drive; Scarborough; ME 04074 USA 207-396-8246
Former affiliation: Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; University of Florida; Gainesville; Florida; 32611; Current Affiliation: Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; 33328
Department of Entomology; University of Wisconsin-Madison; 1630 Linden Drive; Madison WI 53606
Department of Biological Sciences; Old Dominion University; 110 MGB; Norfolk; VA 23529
U.S. National
Acari Haemaphysalis rabbit tick United States new species

Abstract

All active stages of Haemaphysalis vespertina sp. nov. (Acari: Ixodidae), a tick previously identified as H. leporispalustris Packard, 1869, are described from specimens collected on the vegetation and from leporids in California and Oregon. The adults of H. leporispalustris Packard, 1969 are redescribed based on type material. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by their overall size, the dorsal shape of palpal segment II, the number and shape of dorsal and ventral setae on palpal segment II, the number of spurs on coxae II, the length of setae on scutum, legs and coxae, and the pattern of scutal punctations. Phylogenetic analyses support H. vespertina as a distinct taxonomic lineage. Additional unresolved lineages within H. leporispalustris s.l. were identified, suggesting a need for further taxonomic study of leporid-associated Haemaphysalis ticks in North America.

 

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How to Cite

Egizi, A., Nava, S., Nakano, A., Saunders, M.E.M., Maestas, L.P., Angelus, A.D., Noden, B., Nadolny, R.M., Bajwa, W.I., Lubelcyzk, C., Bhosale, C.R., Paskewitz, S., Gaff, H.D. & Beati, L. (2025) Description of all stages of a new tick species from California, Haemaphysalis vespertina (Acari: Ixodidae), with redescription of H. leporispalustris Packard, 1869 adults and phylogenetic relationships among related U.S. taxa. Zootaxa, 5719 (1), 49–72. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5719.1.2