title: Ticks of four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs.
abstract: Several studies on ticks infesting small mammals, including elephant shrews, have been  conducted in South Africa; however, these studies have included only a single four-toed  elephant shrew and no hedgehogs. This study thus aimed to identify and quantify the  ixodid ticks infesting four-toed elephant shrews and Southern African hedgehogs. Four-toed  elephant shrews (Petrodromus tetradactylus) were trapped in dense shrub undergrowth in a  nature reserve in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. They were separately housed, first in cages  and later in glass terraria fitted with wire-mesh bases to allow detached ticks to fall through  for collection. Southern African hedgehogs (Atelerix frontalis) were hand caught on a farm in the eastern region of the Northern Cape Province and all visible ticks were collected by means  of tweezers while the animals were anaesthetised. The ticks from each animal were preserved  separately in 70% ethanol for later identification and counting. The immature stages of five  ixodid tick species were collected from the elephant shrews, of which Rhipicephalus muehlensi was the most common. It  has not been recorded previously on any species of elephant  shrew. Three ixodid tick species were collected from the hedgehogs. Large numbers of adult  Haemaphysalis colesbergensis, which has not been encountered previously on hedgehogs,  were collected from these animals. Four-toed elephant shrews are good hosts of the larvae  and nymphs of R. muehlensi, and Southern African hedgehogs are good hosts of adult H.  colesbergensis.
authors: University of Pretoria. ivan.horak@up.ac.za.
authors: Ivan G
authors: IG
authors: Horak
authors: Shaun
authors: S
authors: Welman
authors: Stacey L
authors: SL
authors: Hallam
authors: Heike
authors: H
authors: Lutermann
authors: Nomakwezi
authors: N
authors: Mzilikazi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006364:Hedgehogs / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D048494:Rhipicephalus / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development; D012621:Seasons; D012788:Shrews / Q000469:parasitology*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*