Order Ixodida Subfamily Amblyomminae Subclass Acari | Superorder Parasitiformes Rank Species | |
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Similar Amblyomma, Amblyomma variegatum, Rickettsia africae, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus | ||
Amblyomma hebraeum, commonly known as the South African bont tick, is a species of hard tick that is native to southern Africa. They are sexually dimorphic.
Contents
Description
The scutum and alloscutum of the male is dappled in various shades and colours. The female's scutum is dappled but the alloscutum is solid black. The alloscutum in both sexes is fringed by prominent festoons. The legs are swarthy or reddish, and paler at the joints.
Range
The species is native to eastern and northern South Africa, Swaziland, eastern Botswana, the greater part of Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique. To the north and in Madagascar, the species is replaced by the tropical bont tick, with which it locally overlaps.
Disease vector
The nymph and adult stages are vectors for Heartwater disease which affects various species of domesticated ruminants. Some wild ruminants are susceptible to the disease and suffer from clinical heartwater, but others are highly resistant. The ticks remain infective for life, but their infection rates vary according to the season and region where they occur. In South Africa 1 to 7 percent of ticks are infected at any one time.