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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #405038
Research Project: Systematics of Acari and Hemiptera: Plant Pests, Predators, and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Redescription and lectotype designation of the species Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910) (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae)

Author
item BASSINI-SILVA, R - Butantan Institute
item WELBOURN, W - Smithsonian Institute
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item BARROS-BATTESTI, D - Faculdade De Ciências Agrárias E Veterinárias De Jaboticabal-Unesp
item JACINAVICIUS, F - Butantan Institute

Submitted to: Acarologia
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/4/2023
Publication Date: 12/5/2023
Citation: Bassini-Silva, R., Welbourn, W.C., Ochoa, R., Barros-Battesti, D.M., Jacinavicius, F.C. 2023. Redescription and lectotype designation of the species Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910) (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae). Acarologia. 50(1):68-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2023.2288254.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2023.2288254

Interpretive Summary: Chiggers are parasitic mites of veterinary and medical importance that attack wild and domestic animals including humans. Over 3,700 species of chiggers have been described worldwide. Our knowledge of chiggers in the Americas is strengthening although still very restricted. Examination of type specimens are key in the identification of the species and the understanding of their distribution and host associations. This work points to the importance of reviewing and comparing material with the original mounted specimens. Such results will help to manage and monitor the impact of these mites as disease vectors. The information presented here on the identification of this chigger species is important for people in veterinary/medical research, entomologists, quarantine researchers and biologists.

Technical Abstract: The genus Eutrombicula Ewing (Trombiculidae) currently includes more than 80 species parasitizing amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals worldwide. More than forty species have been recorded from the Americas. Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans) is the type species for the genus and has been recorded from: Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, USA, and Venezuela. In the present study, we redescribed E. alfreddugesi based on examination of the types deposited at the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (formerly Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, RMNH), Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands. Drawings were made using a phase contrast microscopy Nikon eclipse E600 and all the figures were prepared using Inkscape and Photoshop software. After examination of the types described by Oudemans in 1910, we noticed differences between type slides and the numerous redescriptions made over the last 100+ years. While none of the characters observed will affect the diagnosis of the genus, we did find characters to reliably identify this species. However, all the records for this species from the Americas should be reviewed considering our redescription. In this study, we provided a redescription of E. alfreddugesi, as a starting point.