Redescription of Brennanacarus annereauxi (Brennan and Yunker, 1969) (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae) with new records for Uruguay

Authors: BASSINI-SILVA, R. - Universidad De Sao Paulo; HUANG-BASTOS, MATHEUS - Universidad De Sao Paulo; WELBOURN, W.C. - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services; Ochoa, Ronald - Ron; BARROS-BATTESTI, D.M. - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); JACINAVICIUS, F.C. - Universidad De Sao Paulo

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/14/2020
Publication Date: 9/30/2020
Citation: Bassini-Silva, R., Huang-Bastos, M., Welbourn, W., Ochoa, R., Barros-Battesti, D., Jacinavicius, F. 2020. Redescription of Brennanacarus annereauxi (Brennan and Yunker, 1969) (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae) with new records for Uruguay. Journal of Medical Entomology. 57(6):1-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa169

Interpretive Summary: Chiggers are associated with many wild and domestic animals and could affect humans. This paper re-describes an unique chigger associated with bats in Uruguay. This information is usefull for people working with acari, domestic and wild animals, quarantine, agriculture and medical and veterinary fields.

Technical Abstract: South American chiggers have been poorly studied over the years. Of the 300 known genera, the monotypic genus Nasicola was described for Venezuela parasitizing the greater spear-nosed bat. Herein, we are validating the name Brennanacarus for this genus. In addition, after this redescription, this taxon remains valid and unique within all chigger genera. Besides that, in this study, we are redescribing the genus, highlighting some characteristics that were found after examining the types of the only known species, Brennanacarus annereauxi. Also, we are indicating this species for Uruguay. This is the first record of this species in this country, as well as the first record of a chigger to Uruguay.