Rhipicephalus gertrudae explained

Rhipicephalus gertrudae is a species of tick in the family Ixodidae.^[1] The specific epithet honors South African parasitologist Dr. Gertrud Theiler.^{[2] [1]} The species was first circumscribed by Dr. Brouria Feldman-Muhsam.^[2]

Rhipicephalus gertrudae is moderate-sized, about 4 mm in length, heavily punctate, and reddish-brown in color.^[1] Adults are generalist hematophagous parasites, feeding primarily on domestic and wild herbivores such as cattle and sheep; the immatures are specialist hematophagous parasites of murid rodents.^[3] Heavy infestations have caused infant mortality in Chacma baboons in Namibia, through infestation of the muzzle causing inflammation of the nose and mouth that prevents suckling.^[1]

Distribution

Namibia and South Africa.^{[1] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Walker, Jane B. . The Genus Rhipicephalus (Acari, Ixodidae): A Guide to the Brown Ticks of the World . Keirans . James E. . Horak . Ivan G. . 2005-09-15 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-316-58374-6 . en.
2. Brouria Feldman-Muhsam. 1960. The South African Ticks Rhipicephalus capensis Koch and R. gertrudae n. sp. Journal of Parasitology, 46(1):101-108; "We propose to call the new species R. gertrudae in honor of Dr. Gertrud Theiler, through whose courtesy most of our material was obtained."
3. Book: Horak, Ivan G. . The Ixodid Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Southern Africa . Heyne . Heloise . Williams . Roy . Gallivan . G. James . Spickett . Arthur M. . Bezuidenhout . J. Dürr . Estrada-Peña . Agustín . 2018-02-14 . Springer . 978-3-319-70642-9 . en.