Mimon

Abstract: Described as new, from larvae only, are: Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) casebeeri from the rodent, Ototylomys sp., in Costa Rica; O. (A.) chironectes from water opossum, Chironectcs minimus , and cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus griseus , in Nicaragua; O. (A.) clarki from bats, Pteronotus davyi fulvus and P. suapurensis , in Nicaragua; O. (A.) knoxjonesi from bat, Balantiopteryx p. plicata , in Nicaragua; O. (A.) marmosae from murine opossum, Marmosa robinsoni , and mouse, Rhipidomys sp., in Venezuela and Colombia; O. (A.) tiptoni from bat, Noctilio leporinus , from Venezuela and O. (A.) tuttlei from paca, Agouti paca , and tapir, Tapirus terrestris , in Venezuela. In addition, the following species described by Kohls, Clifford, and Jones are now placed in the subgenus Alectorobius: O. setosus, O. eptesicus, O. peruvianus, O. peropteryx, O. mimon , and O. echimys .

Abstract: The present study describes ticks associated with small mammals and analyzes the aggregation patterns according to seasonal and host variations in the Cerrado biome, central-western Brazil. Small mammals were systematically captured in 54 woodland fragments from February 2012 to July 2013. A total of 1,040 animals belonging to eight marsupial and 12 rodent species were captured; 265 animals were parasitized by eight tick species (in decreasing order of abundance): Ornithodoros mimon, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma parvum, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma parkeri, and Ixodes amarali. With few exceptions, collected ticks were larvae and nymphs. Among the more abundant animals, the marsupial Didelphis albiventris showed the highest tick prevalence (84.4 %), mean abundance (19.2), mean intensity (22.8), richness of ticks species (n = 7), and total abundance of ticks (n = 2,457). Amblyomma sculptum and O. mimon were the most generalist species, collected on four host species. Fifteen new tick-host associations are reported for the first time. Most ticks showed higher prevalence and mean intensity in the dry season, regardless of host species. Overall, tick prevalence and mean intensity of infestation were significantly associated with host gender. Finally, the importance of the large number of records of the argasid O. mimon is discussed.

Abstract: Introduction: Mimon is currently considered a monophyletic genus that comprises two subgenera: Mimon (represented by M bennettii and M cozumelae ), and the taxon formerly named “ Anthorhina ” (represented by M crenulatum and M koepckeae ) However, recent molecular phylogenies show Mimon as a polyphyletic genus within Phyllostomidae Methods: Herein, we present a phylogenetic approach based on morphology, which includes all species of the genus Mimon , with emphasis on geographical populations of M crenulatum Our data matrix was built with our own examination of M bennetti ( n = 5), M cozumelae ( n = 31), M crenulatum ( n = 181), and M koepckeae ( n = 3) for 91 morphological characters including external, skull-dental and postcraneal traits The species Lophostoma occidentalis, Trachops cirrhosus, Tonatia saurophila, Phyllostomus discolor , Phylloderma stenops , and Micronycteris megalotis were selected as outgroups The tree was rooted on M megalotis An exhaustive search with 135 unordered characters was performed to find the most parsimonious trees Results: A single well-supported tree of 306 steps was obtained Bootstrap and Jacknife with 10,000 resampling were used as support estimators The most parsimonious tree confirms Mimon is a polyphyletic genus, where the subgenus Mimon and the taxon formerly named “ Anthorhina ” are strongly supported but unrelated monophyletic groups Discussion and Conclusions: In order to solve this taxonomic problem, we recommend the taxon formerly named “ Anthorhina ” be raised at genus level, but with a new name because “ Anthorhina ” is a synonym of Tonatia Finally, we provide an emended diagnosis of Mimon ss and the description of a new genus, based on morphological characters used for the phylogeny Key words: Gardnerycteris nov gen, morphological, maximun parsimony

Abstract: Carios mimon is an argasid tick common on Chiroptera, originally described from larvae collected on bats Mimon crenulatum from Bolivia and Eptesicus brasiliensis from Uruguay Later it was also registered from Argentina and recently included among the Brazilian tick fauna In Brazil, this species is very aggressive to man, resulting in intense inflammatory response and pain It is known only by the larval description and its morphology resembles that from other species currently included into the genus Carios, formerly classified into the subgenus Alectorobius, genus Ornithodoros Here we describe adults and redescribe the larva of C mimon, based on light and scanning electron microscopy Remarks about its morphological similarity with other species of this genus are also discussed Molecular analysis inferred from a portion of the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene placed C mimon in a cluster supported by maximal bootstrap value (100%) with other argasid species (mostly bat parasites in the New World), which have been classified into either the genus Ornithodoros or Carios, depending on the Argasidae classification adopted by different authors