Records of three mammal tick species parasitizing an atypical host, the multi-ocellated racerunner lizard, in arid regions of Xinjiang, China

Background Ticks are ectoparasites that feed on blood of a broad taxonomical range of terrestrial and flying vertebrates and are distributed across a wide range of environmental settings. To date, the species identity, diversity, and relationships among the ticks on lizards in China have been poorly understood. Methods In this study, 30 ticks, collected from the multi-ocellated racerunner (Eremias multiocellata) lizard in the Tarim Basin and adjacent Yanqi Basin of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, were identified by morphological observation and confirmed by DNA-based techniques. The mitochondrially encoded 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and COI gene fragments of ticks were amplified and sequenced. To understand the genetic polymorphisms, 47 ticks collected from hedgehogs and 1 from brushwood in the Tarim Basin were also included. Species identification was based on both morphological and molecular characters. The median-joining network approach was used to evaluate the intraspecific genealogies of the ticks and their relatedness with the geographical origin or hosts. Results The sequence similarity analysis confirmed that the 30 ticks belong to three genera and three species including 11 individuals of Hyalomma asiaticum, 3 of Rhipicephalus turanicus, and 16 of Haemaphysalis sulcata. A network approach revealed paraphyletic populations of R. turanicus and Hy. asiaticum at the intraspecies level regarding geographical origin and low host specificity. For R. turanicus and Hy. asiaticum, common ancestry was observed between COI sequences from lizards and other sequence types from different hosts and countries. Conclusions To our knowledge, our study is the first to conduct a molecular survey of ticks from lizards in the arid regions of Xinjiang, China. Eremias multiocellata is an atypical host of the three tick species. Notably, two species of ticks, Hy. asiaticum and R. turanicus, have been collected and identified from lizards in China for the first time. Star-like networks suggest both of them might have experienced recent population expansion. The discoveries are closely related to the geographical environments in Xinjiang and will provide information for the control of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Northwest China.

MtDNA differentiation and taxonomy of Central Asian racerunners of Eremias multiocellata-E. przewalskii species complex (Squamata, Lacertidae)

We provide an integrative analysis of the diversity of the E. multiocellata—E. przewalskii species complex in Central and Middle Asia using morphological and molecular (COI DNA-barcoding) data. We report preliminary data on mtDNA variation within this group and clarify the taxonomic status and distribution of the members of the species complex. We also provide a description of a new Eremias species from Eastern Kazakhstan and western Mongolia, where it occurs in sympatry with E. multiocellata sensu stricto, from which it can be clearly differentiated using both morphological and molecular characters. The new species, described as Eremias dzungarica sp. nov., is assigned to the subgenus Pareremias on the basis of the following features: subocular not reaching mouth edge; one frontonasal; two supraoculars; the row of small granular scales between supraoculars and frontal with frontoparietals absent; distance between the femoral pore rows being wide; femoral pore rows not reaching knee-joint; coloration pattern with light colored ocelli with black edging. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners on the basis of the following morphological attributes: a medium-sized lacertid lizard, maximum snout-vent length (SVL) = 64.5 mm, tail being ca. 1.5 times longer than body length (SVL), hindlimbs relatively long (hindlimb length to SVL ratio 0.46); subocular scale not reaching mouth edge, in touch with 6–8 supralabials; males with bright coloration consisting of 2–3 dorsolateral rows of light-colored ocelli with thick black edging; the ventral row of ocelli in life is greenish to bluish; dorsal pattern consisting of black irregular blotches along the middorsal line. We also report on the high genetic and morphological diversity of E. multiocellata in Mongolia and China, synonymize E. m. bannikowi with the nominative form E. m. multiocellata, discuss variation within E. przewalskii, synonymize E. p. tuvensis with the nominative form E. przewalskii, provide new data on E. cf. reticulata and E. m. tsaganbogdensis, confirm validity and clarify distribution ranges of E. stummeri, E. szczerbaki and E. yarkandensis and discuss further progress on taxonomic studies of the E. multiocellata—E. przewalskii species complex.