Ixodes luciae Sénevet, 1940

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 : 418

Ixodes luciae Sénevet, 1940 ( Fig. 11)

It is a Neotropical tick widely distributed in South America: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela ( Guglielmone et al. 2003; BarrosBattesti et al. 2006). The immature stages parasitize rodents whereas the adults feed on marsupials; both males and females have been described ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2006). Some studies reported the presence or I. luciae nymphs restricted to Hylaeamys perenensis , Hylaeamys yunganus , Oligoryzomys microtis and Oecomys bicolor infested with larvae of this species. The diagnosis of the larva of I. luciae was developed through the analysis of the taxonomical keys of Onofrio et al. (2009), differentiating Ixodes loricatus from other Ixodidae whose adults are common on D. marsupialis ( Nava et al. 2004) . According to previous reports in Colombia, Ixodes loricatus and I. luciae are morphologically closely-related and have several ecological similarities in the loricatus group ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2006). In Colombia, Ixodes luciae has been reported associated with D. punctata (guatín) and D. marsupialis (common opossum) ( Wramc 1998; Lopez 2017). Ixodes loricatus and Ixodes boliviensis have been found on D. marsupialis . A nymph of Ixodes boliviensis collected in Muzo (Boyacá department) was reported as I. loricatus . It was collected from chucha real ( Metachirus longicaudatus from Restrepo, Meta, by Dr. J. Boshell M and other samples from D. marsupialis from Muzo, Boyaca Department, and Villavicencio, Meta ( Osorno-Mesa 1942). Ixodes luciae has also been associated with Metachirus nudicaudatus (opossum), Oryzomys gorgasi (rice rat) and Orysomys capito ( Wramc 1998) . Oryzomys gorgasi was collected by the U.S. Army Medical Department between 1950−1967 in the Antioquia Department at northwestern Colombia and in the interoceanic canal routes in Panama and Colombia. The complex Ixodes ricinus are vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi , but only I. affinis , I. aragaoi , I. minor and I. pararicinus are in the Neotropic ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2006). Regarding I. luciae , although some reports affirm that this species could parasitize humans, there is no information regarding human or animal diseases transmitted by this tick ( Díaz et al. 2009). No updates have been made recently for this tick in Colombia.