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An overview on Sardinia’s soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae)

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Abstract

Knowledge about soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae) in Sardinia is incomplete and distribution data need to be updated. This work studies soft ticks on the island focusing on two species, Argas reflexus and Ornithodoros maritimus, both recently recorded. A total number of 12 specimens of these species of interest were collected between 2004 and 2015. This study reports for the first time the presence of O. maritimus in a coastal area in Italy, and more generally in a coastal area rather than small islands near the coastline, confirming the presence of this species on the island 20 years after its last recording. Moreover we confirm the presence of A. reflexus on the island, in the town of Cagliari and, for the first time, in the town of Quartu Sant’Elena. At the present state of knowledge, in Sardinia, Ornithodoros erraticus, which was actively looked for within the surveillance for African swine fever, an endemic disease since 1978 on the island, is not present. The presence of another species reported only once in Sardinia, Argas vespertilionis, needs further confirmation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank for their collaboration Federica Usai, Costantino Palmas, Valter Seu, Luca Zinzula, Carla Alongi, Sergio Tamburini, Gianluca Scano, Dino Scaravelli, Mauro Mucedda, Giuseppe Grafitti, Carla Zucca, Sergio Nissardi, Federica Loi and Vincenza Figus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. S. C. Diagnostica Territoriale di Cagliari, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna “G. Pegreffi”, Via dell’Acquedotto Romano, Zona Industriale Est, 09030, Elmas, CA, Italy

    Francesco Fois & Manuele Liciardi

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente – Sezione di Biologia Animale ed Ecologia, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Via Ing. T. Fiorelli 1, 09126, Cagliari, Italy

    Jacopo Culurgioni

  3. Osservatorio Epidemiologico Veterinario Regionale (OEVR) - Centro di Sorveglianza Epidemiologica, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna “G. Pegreffi”, Via XX Settembre 9, 09125, Cagliari, Italy

    Stefano Cappai & Sandro Rolesu

  4. Department of Life Sciences, Interdipartimental Centre BIOGEST-SITEIA, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Area San Lazzaro, Pad. Besta, Via G. Amendola 2, 42122, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Pierpaola Mereu Piras

  5. Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive Parassitarie e Immunomediate, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Luciano Toma

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  1. Francesco Fois
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  2. Jacopo Culurgioni
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  3. Stefano Cappai
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  4. Pierpaola Mereu Piras
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  6. Sandro Rolesu
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  7. Manuele Liciardi
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Correspondence to Francesco Fois.

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Fois, F., Culurgioni, J., Cappai, S. et al. An overview on Sardinia’s soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae). Exp Appl Acarol 69, 225–232 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-016-0029-2

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