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This is a comprehensive work summarizing the current state of knowledge of the biology of the hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Maputo Province, Mozambique). It provides an overview of the history of tick research in Southern Africa and the evolution of our knowledge of the ticks' distribution and biology, as well as the methods used to determine tick distribution, abundance and host preference. The morphologies of most of the tick species known to occur in Southern Africa are described and illustrated, and their distributions are described and mapped in relation to the biomes of the region. The known hosts for each tick species are listed, and the tick's host preferences are discussed. Information on most species life cycle in the laboratory and the field, and their seasonal occurrence, is summarized. The diseases of animals and humans transmitted or caused by each tick species are summarized in relation to tick ecology. Aspects of the biology of the major hosts relevant to tick infestations are described, and extensive tick/host and host/tick lists are provided for each country
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. History.- 3. Sources of Information and Methods.- 4. The Genus Amblyomma.- 5. The Genus Haemaphysalis.- 6. The Genus Hyalomma.- 7. The Genus Ixodes.- 8.The Genus Rhipicephalus.- 9. Ticks belonging to other Genera.- 10. Hosts and Host and Vegetation Tick Lists.- 11. Tick-Borne Diseases.
About the author
Ivan G. Horak is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
Heloise Heyne is a Senior Technician and the Curator of the Gertrud Theiler Tick Museum, in the section Epidemiology, Parasites & Vectors, Agricultural Research Council–Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
G. James Gallivan Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Formerly Department of Biology, University of Swaziland, P/B Kwaluseni, Swaziland.
Roy Williams is a Senior Researcher in the section Epidemiology, Agricultural Research Council–Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
Arthur M. Spickett is a retired Senior Researcher in the section Epidemiology, Parasites & Vectors at the Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
J. Dürr Bezuidenhout is a retired Veterinary Researcher and Deputy Director of the Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
Agustín Estrada-Peña is a Professor in the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
