TY  - JOUR
T1  - A rare case of Rhipicephalus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) infestation on a Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra) (Primates: Atelidae) in Petén, Guatemala
AU  - Méndez, Irena Dione
AU  - Morales, Sergio Alejandro
AU  - Morán, Jorge David
AU  - Dominguez, Lillian
AU  - Bermudez Castillero, Sergio
PY  - 2025
DA  - July
Y2  - 2025
DO  - 10.47121/acarolstud.1743293
JF  - Acarological Studies
JO  - Acarol. Stud.
PB  - Salih DOĞAN
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2667-5684
SP  - 144
EP  - 147
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
LA  - en
AB  - Rhipicephalus microplus is a globally significant one-host tick that primarily infests cattle. In the Neotropics, this species has been reported on various wild mammals—such as cervids, tapirs, rodents, bats, carnivores and primates—as well as occasionally from humans. Here we report a rare case of R. microplus infestation in a rescued black howler (Alouatta pigra) from Melchor de Mencos, Petén, Guatemala. This tick-host association, documented at the ARCAS Wildlife Rescue Centre, highlights the expanding host range of R. microplus and emphasises the importance of continued surveillance regarding its health consequences in wildlife, zoonotic potential, and host adaptability.
KW  - Neotropical tick biodiversity
KW  - wildlife ticks
KW  - new host-parasite association
KW  - cattle ticks
CR  - Álvarez-Robles, E., Fuentes-Rousselin, H., Meoño-Sánchez, E., Recinos-Donis, R., Figueroa, L. and Guerra-Centeno, D. 2018. Preliminary study of external parasites of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from the natural reserve of the Parachute Brigade, San José, Escuintla Guatemala. REDVET, 19. [In Spanish]
CR  - Baumgarten, A. and Williamson, G.B. 2007. The distributions of howling monkeys (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata) in southeastern Mexico and Central America. Primates 48 (4): 310-315.
doi: 10.1007/s10329-007-0049-y
CR  - Bermúdez, C.S., Apanaskevich, D., Domínguez, L., Guglielmone, A. (Eds), 2018. Garrapatas Ixodidae de Panama. Biblioteca Nacional, City of Panama, Panama, 129 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Bermúdez, C.S., Domínguez, A.L., Troyo, A., Montenegro, H.V.M. and Venzal, J.M. 2022. Ticks infesting humans in Central America: A review of their relevance in public health. Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases, 2: 100065.
doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2021.100065
CR  - CONAP. 2015. Plan Maestro de la Reserva de la Biósfera Maya, Segunda Actualización. Vol. I. Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, Guatemala, 314 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Cortés-Ortiz, L., Bermingham, E., Rico, C., Rodríguez-Luna, E., Sampaio, I. and Ruiz-García, M. 2003. Molecular systematics and biogeography of the Neotropical monkey genus, Alouatta. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 26 (1): 64-81.
doi: 10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00308-1
CR  - Düttmann, C., Flores, B., Kadoch Z, N. and Bermúdez, C.S. 2016. Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of livestock in Nicaragua, with notes about distribution. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 70 (1): 125-135.
doi: 10.1007/s10493-016-0059-9
CR  - Estrada-Peña, A., Mallón, A.R., Bermúdez, S., la Fuente, J. de, Domingos, A., et al., 2022. One health approach to identify research needs on Rhipicephalus microplus ticks in the Americas. Pathogens, 11 (10): 1180.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens11101180
CR  - Galán-Acedo, C., Arasa-Gisbert, R., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Martínez-Ruiz, M., Rosete-Vergés, F.A. and Villalobos, F. 2023. Effects of habitat loss on Brazilian primates: assessing extinction thresholds in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 21 (2): 189-195.
doi: 10.1016/j.pecon.2023.05.001
CR  - Guglielmone, A.A., Nava, S. and Robbins, R.G. 2021. Neotropical hard ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae): A critical analysis of their taxonomy, distribution, and host relationships. Springer, Switzerland, 486 pp.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-72353-8
CR  - Guglielmone, A.A. and Robbins, R.G. 2018. Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) parasitizing humans. A global overview. Springer, Switzerland. 314 pp.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-95552-0
CR  - IICA. 1988. Estudio ecológico y epidemiológico de garrapatas en Guatemala. Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura, 43 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - INE. 2005. Número de fincas censales, existencia animal, producción pecuaria y características complementarias de la finca censal y del productor(a) agropecuario. Vol. IV. Censo Nacional Agropecuario, Guatemala, 345 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Klass, K., Van Belle, S., Campos-Villanueva, A., Mercado Malabet, F., Estrada, A. 2020. Effects of variation in forest fragment habitat on black howler monkey demography in the unprotected landscape around Palenque National Park, Mexico. PeerJ, 8: e9694.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9694
CR  - Kowalewski, M.M. and Raño, M. 2017. Howler Monkey (Alouatta). The International Encyclopedia of Primatology, 1-3.
doi: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0184
CR  - Labruna, M.B. and Guglielmone, A.A. 2009. Ticks of new world tapirs. Tapir Conservation, 18 (25): 21-28.
CR  - Labruna, M.B., Jorge, R.S.P., Sana, D.A., Jácomo, A.T.A., Kashivakura, C.K., et al. 2005. Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) on wild carnivores in Brazil. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 36: 149-163.
doi: 10.1007/s10493-005-2563-1
CR  - Lima, F.R. de, Martins, T.F., Castro, P.H.G. de, Souza Júnior, J.C. de, Felippi, D.A., et al. 2023. New records of Amblyomma ticks parasitizing neotropical primates in Brazil. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 14 (4): 102169.
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102169
CR  - MAPA. 2023. Ficha de Análisis por Sectores, Guatemala - Fichas del país. Guatemala, 8 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Martins, T.F., Teixeira, R.H.F., Souza, J.C., Luz, H.R., Montenegro, M.M., et al. 2021. Ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodida) on new world wild primates in Brazil. International Journal of Acarology, 47 (2): 95-106.
doi: 10.1080/01647954.2020.1870554
CR  - Pereira, D.F.S., Ribeiro, H.S., Gonçalves, A.A.M., Silva, A.V. da, Lair, D.F., et al. 2022. Rhipicephalus microplus: An overview of vaccine antigens against the cattle tick. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 13 (1): 101828.
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101828
CR  - Repullés, K. and Galán-Acedo, C. 2025. Effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the occurrence of Alouatta guariba in Brazil. Land, 14 (3): 490.
doi: 10.3390/land14030490
CR  - Rodas, A., Monterroso, I. and Stoian, D. 2021. Dinámicas productivas en torno al cambio de uso del suelo y sus repercusiones en la Reserva de Biósfera Maya (RBM) en Petén, Guatemala. The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia & World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, 43 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Rojas Zapata, M.A., Rúa Gomez, M.A., Sepúlveda Correa, M., Echeverri Alzate, S., et al., 2022. Presencia de la garrapata Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus en municipios seleccionados del Altiplano Norte de Antioquia. Sinergia, 1 (12): 34-45. [In Spanish]
CR  - SCEP. 2023. Informe de transición 2023-2024: carta de navegación municipal Melchor de Mencos, Petén, Guatemala, 95 pp. [In Spanish]
CR  - Solórzano-García, B., Zubillaga, D., Piñero, D. and Vázquez-Domínguez, E. 2021. Conservation implications of living in forest remnants: Inbreeding and genetic structure of the northernmost mantled howler monkeys. Biotropica, 53 (4): 1163-1177.
doi: 10.1111/btp.12958
CR  - Schott, D., Ribeiro, P.R., Souza, V.K. de, Surita, L.E., Amorim, D.B. et al. 2020. Clinical and pathological aspects of first report of Tunga penetrans infestation on southern brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Journal of Medical Primatology, 49 (6): 315-321.
doi: 10.1111/jmp.12491
CR  - Teglas, M., Matern, E., Lein, S., Foley, P., Mahan, S.M. and Foley, J. 2005. Ticks and tick-borne disease in Guatemalan cattle and horses. Veterinary Parasitology, 131 (1-2): 119-127.
doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2005.04.033
CR  - Vázquez-Domínguez, E., Solórzano-García, B., Reyes-Vázquez, M. and Zubillaga-Martín, D. 2025. Population genetics and evolutionary history of the black howler monkey Alouatta pigra and hybrid populations in Mexico. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 13: 1551979.
doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1551979
CR  - Vecino Cortés, J.A., Betancourt Echeverri, J.A., Cárdenas Argüelles, J. and Pulido Herrera, A.L. 2010. Distribution of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks on cattle and farms from Altiplano Cundiboyacense (Colombia). Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria, 11 (1): 73-84. [In Spanish]
doi: 10.21930/rcta.vol11_num1_art:197
CR  - Van Belle, S. and Estrada, A. 2006. Demographic features of Alouatta pigra populations in extensive and fragmented forests. In: New perspectives in the study of Mesoamerican primates: distribution, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Barrett, L. (Ed.). Springer, Boston, USA, 121-142.
CR  - Zimmermann, N.P., Aguirre, A.D.A.R., Rodrigues, V.D.S., Garcia, M.V., Medeiros, J.F., et al. 2018. Wildlife species, Ixodid fauna and new host records for ticks in an Amazon forest area, Rondônia, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 27: 177-182.
doi: 10.1590/s1984-296120180022
UR  - https://doi.org/10.47121/acarolstud.1743293
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/5058687
ER  -