Haemaphysalis pentalagi, the Ryukyu rabbit tick, is an endangered species endemic to Japan where it is only known from Amami Ōshima, an island in the Ryukyu archipelago. It is a host specific parasite of the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) which is endemic to the islands of Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima. Due to its host-specific relationship with the endangered Amami rabbit, it is considered a co-endangered species.
| Haemaphysalis pentalagi | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ixodida |
| Family: | Ixodidae |
| Genus: | Haemaphysalis |
| Species: | H. pentalagi
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| Binomial name | |
| Haemaphysalis pentalagi Pospelova-Shtrom, 1935[1]
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The Ryukyu rabbit tick was originally described and named in 1935 based on a single male specimen.[2] Full descriptions of the male, female, nymphal and larval stages were published in April 1970 in the Journal of Parasitology by Harry Hoogstraal and Noboru Yamagutit.[3]
The Ryukyu rabbit tick is the subject of the first dedicated conservation program for a globally threatened parasite which began in 2022.[4] This program involves both in-situ monitoring of wild populations of this tick and ex-situ captive breeding of an insurance population in the event that the species becomes extinct in the wild.
References
edit- ^ "Haemaphysalis pentalagi Pospelova-Shtrom, 1935". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ Pospelova-Shtrom, M.V. (1935). "The classification of the ixodid genus Haemaphysalis". Trav. Fil. Acad. Sci. URSS. 5: 205-217.
- ^ Hoogstraal, Harry; Yamaguti, Noboru (1970). "Haemaphysalis (H.) pentalagi Pospelova-Shtrom, a Parasite of the Japanese Black Rabbit: Redescription of the Male and Descriptions of the Female, Nymph, and Larva (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae)". The Journal of Parasitology. 56 (2): 367–374. doi:10.2307/3277677. ISSN 0022-3395. JSTOR 3277677.
- ^ Kwak, M.L.; Taya, Y.; Suzuki, M.; Matsuno, K.; Nakao, R. (2024). "Saving the Ryukyu rabbit tick Haemaphysalis pentalagi". Oryx: 1. doi:10.1017/S003060532400098X.
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