Amblyomma loculosum (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae) : Identity, Marine Bird and Human Hosts, Virus Infection, and Distribution in the Southern Oceans1

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Abstract
A few specimens of Amblyomma loculosum Neumann were previously recorded, with little data, from islands in the Indian Ocean and the Coral Sea. We provide data and collecting notes for 402 adult and immature A. loculosum taken from 14 species and subspecies of marine birds, and from several humans, goats, and a lizard, on the Tanzania coast and in islands of Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cocos Keeling groups in the Indian Ocean, islands off Queensland in the Coral Sea, and the Caroline Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Other specimens have been reported from Isles Surprises off New Caledonia. Notes accompanying several collections state that humans are often bitten by this tick. In the Seychelles, Aride virus, a new ungrouped arbovirus, was isolated from a pool of 2 female A. loculosum taken from the feet of 2 dead adult roseate terns. Two other virus isolates from female ticks from sooty tern chicks were lost in passage through mice. Five females were taken from the feet of a dying adult sooty tern. These findings point to the need to study the role of A. loculosum as a reservoir and vector of bird and human infections. The adult and immature stages are redescribed and illustrated. A vigorous colony of this 3-host tick has been established on laboratory rabbit hosts.

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