First recorded of Ixodes kerguelenensis (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from a short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris in Japan

Abstract

An engorged ixodid tick was collected from a rescued short-tailed shearwater, Puffinus tenuirostris (Temminck), at Funabashi Sanbanse Seaside Park in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Based on morphological features, we identified the specimen as Ixodes kerguelenensis (André and Colas-Belcour), which is a species known to infest seabirds in Oceania. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of I. kerguelenensis in Japan. The case of infestation to the shearwater suggests the possibility of the long-distance translocation of the tick in Oceanian region to Japan.