HOSTS 



Adult red ticks most commonly occur on domestic cattle, equines, 

 goats, and sheep, and on wild antelopes, zebras and a few other 

 large game animals. If a comparative host- predilection stxidy of 

 this species could be undertaken, it is likely that domestic horses, 

 mules, and donkeys and wild zebras might rank highest as preferred 

 hosts. /"Althoxigh Lewis (1931B) considered it peculiar that horses 

 in the Rift Valley of Kenya yielded no red ticks, I have subsequent- 

 ly collected many specimens from horses there T* Immature stages 

 normally feed on the same type of large-size host as do the adults, 

 thoxigh their feeding sites on the animal differ markedly. Under 

 some conditions, larvae and nymphs attack hares, elephant shrews, 

 tree rats, and baboons, but the factors causing these presumably 

 atypical infestations are not known. 



Domestic animals ; Cattle are mentioned as hosts by all authors 

 noted above and equines, sheep, and goats are also commonly listed 

 by the same persons. A single record from camel is known (Wiley 

 1953). Dogs are seldom infested (Theiler 1953), as are pigs 

 (Theiler, correspondence), although a few specimens from each of 

 these animals have been taken in the Sudan. Dogs have been re- 

 ported as hosts by Mettam (1932) in Uganda. 



Wild antelopes ; In one of the earliest host-lists of African 

 ticksT^ward U908) noted the eland and reedbuck. Bedford (1932B) 

 listed the biioe wildebeest, sable antelope, blesbok, roan antelope. 

 Cape kudu, impala, steenbuck. Cape duiker, springbok, bushbuck, 

 waterbuck, and (for nynqphs) the bontebok, steenbok, and grysbok. 

 In the Sudan, King (1926) noted specimens from the Isabella gazelle, 

 while we have found others on the teL-tel (Roosevelt*s hartebeest), 

 eland. Baker's roan antelope, and oribi. Mettam (1932) reported 

 duiker and kob from Uganda, and Weber (1948) took specimens from 

 the eland. Grant's gazelle, duiker, hartebeest, and in?)ala. The 

 inopala has also been reported by Meeser (1952; see ecology below), 

 Santos Dias (1953B), and Tendeiro (1951A,B), while Jack (19A2) 

 aided the tsessebe. In the Masai Reserve of Kenya, Lewis (1934) 

 fooind the roan antelope, wildebeest, and hartebeest infested. The 

 sable antelope, eland, wildebeest, and kudu were reported as hosts 

 in Northern Rhodesia by Matthysse (1954) • These records are repu 

 resentative of others relating to wild antelopes as hosts. 



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