''Nuttalliella namaqua'' is a

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

found in southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, which is placed in its own family, Nuttalliellidae. It can be distinguished from ixodid ticks and argasid ticks by a combination of characteristics including the position of the stigmata, lack of setae, strongly corrugated integument, and form of the fenestrated plates. It is the most basal lineage of ticks.

History

Early zoological descriptions

The first description by G.A.H. Bedford in 1931 was based upon a single female collected under a stone at Kamieskroon, in

Little Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

, by Dr R.F. Lawrence in October 1930. (1931):
''Nuttalliella namaqua'', a new genus and species of tick
. ''Parasitology'' 23 (2): 230-232. The genus and family were named for the bacteriologist

George Nuttall George Henry Falkiner Nuttall FRS (5 July 1862 – 16 December 1937) was an American-British bacteriologist who contributed much to the knowledge of parasites and of insect carriers of diseases. He made significant innovative discoveries in immu ...

, a specialist in diseases transmitted by ticks. As of 1980, only eighteen specimens had been collected. In a 2011 study, that number was increased to fifty-one total specimens. They were collected in three locations in South Africa including two new sites: Springbok, Graaff-Reinet, and Heuningvleipan.

Distribution

''Nuttalliella namaqua'' has been observed in Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. Localities of collection include coastal (west and south) and inland sites (north). The Namibia specimens were collected from museum mammal skins in

Kuboes Kuboes is a town in Richtersveld Local Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Kuboes was one of the first permanent settlements on the Richtersveld. The town grew around a Rhenish mission set up by revered Johan Hein, who ...

. The biomes represented by these locations are: mixed tree and shrub savannah,

Nama Karoo Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia. It occupies most of the interior of the western half of South Africa and extends into the southern interior of Namibia. Climate The climate te ...

and Succulent Karoo. This current geographic range probably resembles the historic range of ''N. namaqua'' as the area's climate has remained relatively unchanged since the

Permian extinction event The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

when it became semiarid.

Behavior

Hosts

''N. namaqua'' is believed to be a generalist when choosing a host. ''N. namaqua'' has been collected from mammals, reptiles and birds nests. Genetic sequencing of blood found in ''N. namaqua'' show a wide diversity of lizard hosts. The estimation for the genus' age supports a generalist host preference. In order to survive for over two-hundred and eighty million years, ''N. namaqua'' would need to access a variety of hosts as species became extinct and new species emerged. Due to the age of the genus, ''N. namaqua'' most likely switched hosts many times. A study proposed that early ''Nuttalliellia'' (~260-270 mya) parasitized

therapsid Therapsida is a major group of eupelycosaurian synapsids that includes mammals, their ancestors and relatives. Many of the traits today seen as unique to mammals had their origin within early therapsids, including limbs that were oriented more ...

s before moving onto

diapsid Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The group first appeared about three hundred million years ago ...

s soon after the

Permian extinction The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleozo ...

. Lizards would then have replaced diapsids as primary hosts. Eventually, ''N. namaqua'' moved into mammals and birds. However, more recent estimates have suggested a younger date for the split between Nuttalliellidae and all other ticks at around 195 million years ago.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15072733 Ticks Acari genera Monotypic arthropod genera Arachnids of Africa