title: Amblyomma tapirellum  (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from tropical forest canopy.
abstract: Free-ranging ticks are widely known to be restricted to the ground level of vegetation. Here, we document the capture of the tick species Amblyomma tapirellum in light traps placed in the forest canopy of Barro Colorado Island, central Panama. A total of forty eight adults and three nymphs were removed from carbon dioxide-octenol baited CDC light traps suspended 20 meters above the ground during surveys for forest canopy mosquitoes. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of questing ticks from the canopy of tropical forests. Our finding suggests a novel ecological relationship between A. tapirellum and arboreal mammals, perhaps monkeys that come to the ground to drink or to feed on fallen fruits.
authors.affiliation: Programa Centroamericano de Maestría en Entomología, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad de Panamá, Panama ; Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Ciudad de Panamá, Panama.
authors.forename: Jose R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Loaiza
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Eldredge
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bermingham
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Oris I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Sanjur
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Jose R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rovira
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biodiversidad y Descubrimiento de Drogas, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Ciudad de Panamá, Panama ; Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, India.
authors.forename: Larissa C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Dutari
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland MD, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pecor
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland MD, USA.
authors.forename: Desmond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radtke
authors.affiliation: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, USA.
authors.forename: Montira J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pongsiri
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