Nuttalliella is genus of tick. It contains a single living species, Nuttalliella namaqua found in southern Africa, having been reported from Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa,[3] with fossil species of the genus having been reported from the mid-Cretaceous (~100 million years ago) Burmese amber of Myanmar.[4] It is the only living member of the family Nuttalliellidae.[5] 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.[6] Known as a 'living fossil', it is the most basal lineage of extant ticks.[7][8]
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, by Dr R.F. Lawrence in October 1930.[9] The genus and family honours bacteriologist George Nuttall, a specialist in diseases transmitted by ticks, while the species is named for Little Namaqualand, the origin of the first specimen described.[9][7] The species was recognised as distinctive enough to warrant its own family in two publications in 1935 and 1936.[4] As of 1980, only eighteen specimens had been collected.[7] 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.[7]
Recently, fossil species described from Burmese amber have begun to clarify the basal phylogenies of early tick families. The specimens, dating to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 million years ago, have included species in newly described genera Deinocroton, Khimaira and Legionaris, in addition to fossil Nuttalliella.[4]
Description and systematics
Nuttalliella, and the Nuttalliellidae more broadly, are regarded as the evolutionary 'link' between the hard ticks (Ixodidae) and the soft ticks (Argasidae).[7]Nuttalliella spp. possess a partly sclerotized pseudo-scutum and anterior, albeit short, mouthparts. In adults, the dorsal pseudoscutum appears like that of the Ixodidae, however the cuticle texture is not shell-like as in the hard ticks, rather it is a leathery, wrinkled surface, with elevations and pits as in the Argasidae.[10][7]N. namaqua larvae possess true scuta, unlike the other life stages of the species; larvae also exhibit a dentate anal plate and pores on the legs, which are not seen in subsequent lifestages or in the Ixodidae or Argasidae.[11]Nuttalliella spp., like the Argasidae, can use their stomach as a storage organ for unmetabolised blood cells and haemoglobin.[12]
The Deinocrotonidae, formerly positioned as a sister family to the Nuttalliellidae,[13][14] are now considered part of the Nuttalliellidae, as they share many of the unique morphological features of the family.[4] Namely, the shared pseudoscutum and hypostome features, but especially the 'ball-and-socket-like' leg joints common to Nuttalliella, Deinocroton and Legionaris species.[4] As such, there are currently four families in the order Ixodida.
Of modern tick lineages, Nutalliella is likely most related to the Ixodidae genus Ixodes, which, as the sole Prostriata genus, is known to be a basal lineage.[15] This relation was recognised by Bedford in the species' description, who noted the anterior anal groove and character of the pseudoscutum as most similar to Ixodes.[9] However, the nuttalliellids are no longer considered the last common ancestral lineage to the two primary modern tick families, the Ixodidae and Argasidae, following the discovery of the fossil species Khimaira fossus gen. et sp. nov. The newly recognised family, the Khimairidae, feature a much more distinct 'chimaeric fusion' of argasid and ixodid characters: a soft, integumented body together with a well-developed terminal gnathosoma and scutum. As such, the fossil family Khimairidae fam. nov. is now considered to be the last common ancestral lineage of the Argasidae and Ixodidae.[13]
Cladogram after Chitimia‐Dobler et al. 2022 and 2024:[13][4]
N. namaqua is believed to have generalist host preferences, potentially weighted depending on life-stage[19] The species been collected from mammals, reptiles and birds' nests.[7] Genetic sequencing of blood found in N. namaqua show a wide diversity of lizard hosts.[19] Larvae may feed more commonly on murid rodents,[20] which is common to a number of African ixodid ticks.[21] Nymphs and adults may more readily parasitise lizards, including geckoes, skinks and particularly girdled lizards (Karusasaurus and Cordylus spp.).[22][19] Resolving the species life-cycle is challenging due to the elusive nature of the tick, in addition to the factor that the females feed rapidly, such that they are rarely found on-host. The species is also known from meerkats, hares and jackals, among others.[10]
Tick host preferences are fundamentally determined by ecological factors, and flexibility in host selection over time is an attribute of most tick lineages.[23] Given that Nuttalliella predate the origin of mammals, a generalist strategy of parasitism is likely a major driving force in the longevity of the species, which has seen the species adopt mammalian hosts as necessary.[19]
References
↑ Schulze-Rostock, P. (1935). "ZUR VERGLEICHENDEN ANATOMIE DER ZECKEN. (DAS STERNALE, DIE MUNDWERKZEUGE, ANALFURCHEN UND ANALBESCHILDERUNG, IHRE BEDEUTUNG, URSPR+£NGLICHKEIT UND LUXURIEREN)" [ON THE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF TICKS.]. Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Ökologie der Tiere (in German). 30 (1): 1–40. doi:10.1007/BF00418067. JSTOR43261572. S2CID28473817.
↑ James E. Keirans; Carleton M. Clifford; Harry Hoogstraal; Emmett R. Easton (1976). "Discovery of Nuttalliella namaqua Bedford (Acarina: Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae) in Tanzania and redescription of the female based on scanning electron microcopy". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 69 (5): 926–932. doi:10.1093/aesa/69.5.926.
↑ Mohamed A. Roshdy; Harry Hoogstraal; Abdulelah A. Banaja; Samir M. El Shoura (1983). "Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae): spiracle structure and surface morphology". Parasitology Research. 69 (6): 817–821. doi:10.1007/BF00927431. S2CID33872322.
↑ Latif, A. A., Putterill, J. F., de Klerk, D. G., Pienaar, R., and Mans, B. J. (2012). Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae): First description of the male, immature stages and re-description of the female. PloS One 7, e41651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041651
↑ Sonenshine, D. E., and Roe, R. M. (2014). Biology of Ticks Vol. 2 (Cambridge: Oxford University Press).
↑ Peñalver E, Arillo A, Delclòs X, Peris D, Grimaldi DA, Anderson SR, Nascimbene PC and Pérez-de la Fuente R (2017) Ticks parasitized feathered dinosaurs as revealed by Cretaceous amber assemblages. Nature Communications 8, 1024.
↑ Nava, Santiago; Guglielmone, Alberto A.; Mangold, Atilio J. (2009-01-01). "An overview of systematics and evolution of ticks". Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark Edition). 14 (8): 2857–2877. doi:10.2741/3418. ISSN2768-6698. PMID19273240.
1 2 3 4 Mans, Ben J.; de Klerk, Daniel G.; Pienaar, Ronel; Latif, Abdalla A. (2013-09-21). "The host preferences of Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae): a generalist approach to surviving multiple host-switches". Experimental and Applied Acarology. 62 (2): 233–240. doi:10.1007/s10493-013-9737-z. hdl:2263/33541. PMID24057095. S2CID17797303.
↑ El Shoura, S. M. (1991). Nuttalliella namaqua (Acarina: Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae) redescription of the female morphology in relation to the families Argasidae and Ixodidae. Acarologia 31, 349–355
↑ Klompen JS, Black WC 4th, Keirans JE, Oliver JH Jr (1996) Evolution of ticks. Annu Rev Entomol 41:141–161
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