Carrapatos (Acari Ixodida) ectoparasitos de serpentes das famílias Colubridae e Dipsadidae (serpentes Squamata) do estado de Alagoas, Brasil

Abstract

Snakes make up one of the most diverse vertebrate groups in the world considering size, diet, life habit, reproduction, etc. Among snakes we have the families Colubridae and Dipsadidae that stand out regarding taxonomic and functional diversity. Also, snakes have many fundamental roles for the ecosystem balance, control populations of several animals, and arouse great interest in the bioprospecting of bioactive substances for humans. Snakes can be affected by diseases, including those caused by parasites, one of them being ticks. Seven species of snakes are endemic in Alagoas, which gives importance to studies on parasitism to help in the construction of conservation strategies that include population and health control of these ectoparasites. through the analysis of snakes deposited in the Herpetological Collection of the Museum of Natural History of the Federal University of Alagoas from the Endemic Center of Pernambuco and the Caatinga restricted to the state of Alagoas, the parasitic ticks were inventoried. These were collected and preserved in 70% alcohol and identified using identification keys. Larvae of Amblyomma sp. and Ornithodoros sp, nymphs of Amblyomma dissimile, Amblyomma fuscum and Amblyomma rotundatum, and adult males of Amblyomma fuscum were recorded, parasitizing 13 species of the Dipsadidae family (Oxyrhopus trigeminus, O. guibei, O. petolarius, Phimophis guerini, Pseudoboa nigra, Siphlophis compressus, Philodryas nattereri, P. olfersii, Dipsas variegata, D. neuwiedi, Leptodeira annulata, Xenodon merremii and X. rabdocephalus), and 5 species of the Colubridae family (Chironius flavolineatus, C. carinatus, Oxybelis aeneus, Spilotes sulphureus, S. pullatus) . This is the first inventory of parasitic snake ticks in the state of Alagoas, presenting, therefore, unprecedented results on the subject, which increased the knowledge of the geographical distribution of the ectoparasites in Brazil.