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Amblyomma geochelone, a New Species of Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) from the Madagascan Ploughshare Tortoise

Abstract The male and female of Amblyomma geochelone n. sp. are described and illustrated by both scanning electron micrographs and line drawings. Specimens of this new tick species were recovered from the endangered ploughshare tortoise, Geochelone yniphora (Vaillant), in northwestern Madagascar. This relatively large tick is morphologically most similar to Amblyomma nuttalli Dönitz, which occurs in mainland sub-Saharan Africa where it mainly parasitizes other species of tortoises. However, several characters distinguish the new species from A. nuttalli including the scutal ornamentation in both sexes and the characteristic patterns of shallow grooves on the alloscutum of the female of A. geochelone. Because the adult stages of A. geochelone are almost certainly host specific ectoparasites of the ploughshare tortoise, this new tick species is also probably endangered.