SYLVICAPRA GRIMMIA ROOSEVELTI Heller, 1912. Roosevelt's Duikerbok. Five adults and two nymphs of A. variegatum were infesting a duikerbok near Torit. Several others in this area were uninfested. KOBUS DEFASSA HARNIERI (Murie, 1867). Harnier's Waterbuck. Several" H. aciculifer from Muragatika have been reported in literature. Waterbucks that we examined near the Nile were un infested. ADENOTA KOB LEUCOTIS (Lichtenstein and Peters, 1854). White-eared Kob. No ticks were recovered from a few kobs shot in Eastern District. REDUNCA BOHOR COTTONI (W. Rothschild, 1902). Cotton's Reedbuck. A few reedbucks examined near Nimule and Juba yielded no ticks. HIPPOTRAGUS EQUINUS BAKERI Heuglin, 1863. Baker's Roan Antelope. About half the roans obtained in Juba, Torit, and Eastern Districts were parasitized by small numbers of adult ticks representing A. lepidum, A. variegatum, R. appendiculatus (rare east of the Nile), R. e. evertsi, R. S. sanguineus, and R. s. simus. DAMALISCUS KORRIGUM TIANG (Heuglin, 1846). Tiang. Sudan Government collections contain single adults of A. lepidum and R. s. simus from Terakeka. ALCELAPHUS BUSELAPHUS ROOSEVELTI (Heller, 1912). Roosevelt's Hartebeest. In Torit District from one to fifteen ticks were found on infested hartebeests, locally called "teltel", but a number of others examined were tickless. Adults and nymphs of A. lepidum and A. variegatum were represented as well as fifteen adult R. e. evertsi, single adults (of R. pravus and H. aciculifer, and a pair of B. decoloratus. ALCELAPHUS BUSELAPHUS SUBSP. Two male H. aciculifer from an unidentified hartebeest from Atiambo (Alungwe) are present in Sudan Government collections. Approximately one in eight oribis examined in Torit District was tick infested. The number of parasites per animal was eight or less. Single nymphs of A. nuttalli, A. variegatum, H. acicu lifer, and R. pravus, as well as adults of H. aciculifer, R. pravus, and R. and R. s. sanguineus were found. RHYNCHOTRAGUS GUENTHERI SMITHII Thomas, 1901. Smith's Long-snouted Dik dik. The rate and density of tick infestation of the long-snouted dik dik are similar to that of the oribi. Near Torit and Ikoto, two specimens bore three and fifteen nymphal A. variegatum, others single adults of H. leachii muhsami and R. pravus, and two yielded seven adults of the latter species. GAZELLA GRANTI BRIGHT I Thomas, 1901. Bright's Gazelle. Bright's gazelle, to the best of our knowledge, occurs only in Eastern District. A specimen at Jebel Kathangor in December was infested by sixteen nymphs, evenly divided between A. lepidum and A. variegatum, and four adults of the former species. MAN Europeans and Americans who venture into the field in eastern Equatoria commonly pick a few ticks off themselves afterwards. The ticks are usually quickly noticed due to the open clothing and numerous baths that are indulged in this area. Available specific records derive only from our own party; other persons informed us of being bitten by ticks but failed to preserve the specimens. No infestation of indigenous people was observed, Ticks actually feeding on man at Torit and Ikoto were nymphal A. variegatum and R. appendiculatus, female R. pravus and R. s. simus, and male R. pravus, R. s. sanguineus, and R. s. simus; the last named tick was also recorded at Juba. The nymph of R. appen diculatus taken from the leg of one of our party at Torit the day after returning from Kajo Kaji is of especial interest since the parasite undoubtedly attached at Kajo Kaji, some three hundred miles from Torit. Ticks removed from human beings but not attached were adults of the three rhipicephalid species noted above. A male R. s. sanguineus "from man" at Khor Lado was presented by Mr. Reid. STRUCTURES HUMAN DWELLINGS Three specimens of the African relapsing fever vector, 0. moubata, were collected in a hut at Liria (cf. page 121). others have been taken in a hamlet in the Kajo Kaji area and reported from "four Equatoria Province rest houses north of Nimule". Ixodids were frequently observed in houses but the only one retained with data was an adult A. lepidum. POULTRY HOUSES Wherever chickens are confined in any numbers in Juba, Torit, and Eastern Districts A. persicus can be found. Few specific data were retained but numerous casual observations were made. PIGEON COTE A cote at Juba twice yielded a few A. reflexus but additional material could not be found on subsequent visits. Other cotes at Juba were uninfested. Pigeon cotes elsewhere in the Sudan were not investigated. DOMESTIC FOWLS CHICKENS The same remarks as for poultry houses (above) apply to the hosts themselves. At Torit, twelve nymphs of A. variegatum were also found on chickens. TURKEY S Seven nymphs of A. variegatum infested a turkey at Katire. DOMESTIC MAMMALS Large numbers of ticks collected from domestic mammals allow generalized conclusions concerning distribution and host predilec_ tion. Systematic collections throughout the year and throughout the Province were not undertaken. Eastern District, the mountains of the east bank, and the area west of Yei deserve more attention. Significant data should be obtained from more intensive collecting during the rainy season. HORSES There were probably no more than fifty horses in Equatoria Province during the period of the present study and it is unlikely that many of these remain. Ticks found on horses at Torit and Juba were nymphal A. variegatum, nymphs and adults of B. decolora tus, and adult R. e. evertsi, R. s. sanguineus, and R. s. simus. DONKEYS Small numbers of donkeys are maintained by the Taposa of Eastern District and by small tribes in this area but these animals were not examined for ticks. Nymphs of B. decoloratus have been taken from a donkey at More (Yei River). PIGS Fewer than fifty pigs were seen, all at Torit and Katire. A few pigs kept at Amadi did not thrive. At Katire, nine nymphal A. variegatum were the only ticks on four pigs. At Torit, several adults of R. s. simus could be found on each pig whenever a search was made and 99 were collected along with single males of R. e. evertsi and R. s. sanguineus. DOGS Dogs maintained by the few Europeans previously living in Equatoria Province were deticked every day or two and yielded the same species found on pie dogs. Infestations of pie-dogs, often tremendous, were characterized by preponderence of R. s. sanguineus in practically every collection throughout the Prov ince, smaller numbers of R. s. simus almost everywhere, and a paucity of H. 1. leachii. The last named tick, which in Equa toria Province appears to be more common on dogs at high altitudes, is represented by about 45 specimens, but the subspecies H. 1. muhsami by only a single specimen. In Eastern and Torit Districts, A. lepidum and R. pravus parasitize dogs; near the Nile a few adults of R. simus senegalensis have been taken. single female B. decoloratus was found at Gilo. The localization of A. variegatum infestations is of some interest. This ubiquitous tick was found on dogs only at Katire and Kajo Kaji. Both localities are at higher elevations than the plains and received less attention than Torit and the surrounding country. CATTLE A Cattle are so frequently of considerable importance in sup porting and transporting large numbers of ticks of known or poten tial medical and veterinary importance that special consideration should be given to cattle history, breeds, numbers, husbandry, and movements wherever a tick survey is attempted. Before the devastating slave raids of the nineteenth century cattle were more numerous in areas bordering the Nile than now. Since the low ebb of that period, herds of livestock have varied greatly due to epidemics, encroachment of tsetse flies, and intertribal relations. The largest cattle populations occur in Eastern District, eastern Torit District, and the Kajo Kaji area. Elsewhere small herds are maintained in isolated situations but west of Yei cattle are rare indeed. |