| abstract | Haemaphysalis bequaerti sp. nov. is described from adults, nymphs, and a larva from the Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya. H. orientalis Nuttall and Warburton, 1915
(comb. nov.) of Nyasaland and Mozambique, is redescribed, as is H. cuoleyi Bedford, 1929, of South Africa. H. zavnbeziae Santos Dias, 1954, is a synonym of H. orientalis. These three species are referred to as the "H. orientalis group."
The host predilection of these species for hyraxes is discussed in relation to the great age of these mammals in the African fauna and the habits of related species and groups (H. leachii, H. hoodi, and H. erinacei). Hyraxes are apparently rarely attacked by other species of ticks; available records are provided. The possible vector relation of H. bequaerti sp. nov. to a strange piroplasm of hyraxes is noted.
H. wzuhsawzi Santos Dias, 1954, is herein considered as a subspecies of H. leachii (Audouin, 1827) (comb. nov.). This is the form previously referred to by workers on African ticks as the "small form of H. leachii," as H. leachii indica, or as H. leachii near indica. |