New records of rare Ornithodoros (Acari: Argasidae) species in caves of the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The genus Ornithodoros is worldwide distributed and features 113 known species. However, some species are rare and collections are scarce. The present paper expands the known distribution of two species of soft ticks, O. rondoniensis and O. marinkellei, by about 1400 km to the east, in caves in two municipal districts in the state of Pará, northern Brazil. These species were previously known only from the western Brazilian Amazon. Furthermore, some morphological details and molecular analysis are shown.