Miyako Tsurumi

First Detection of Rickettsia in Soft‐Bodied Ticks Associated with Seabirds, Japan

Rickettsia was first detected in seabird soft‐bodied ticks, Carios capensis and C. sawaii in Japan. According to sequence analysis, Rickettsia in Japan was identical to Rickettsia scc31 in C. capensis in the U.S.A. This suggested that an environmental circulation had consisted among microorganisms, ticks and long distance migratory seabirds around the Pacific Ocean.

Mitochondrial Sequence Variation in Carios capensis (Neumann), a Parasite of Seabirds, Collected on Torishima Island in Japan

Partial mitochondrial 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequences in the ticks Carios capensis collected from black-footed albatross, Diomedea nigripes, colonies on Torishima Island, Japan (30°28′N, 140°18′E), were examined. The sequence was compared with those of C. capensis from Hawaii, South Carolina, and Texas. The sequences were all identical in ticks from Torishima and 2 from Hawaii. There were 2–3 transitions between the other Hawaiian and Texas ticks and Torishima specimens. Two transitions were also observed when compared with the ticks from South Carolina. The results suggest the possibility of gene flow between tick populations at each of the 2 geographic sites, which probably was accomplished by tick-infested migratory seabirds at their breeding sites. Sequence comparison analysis indicated that the C. capensis ticks are on the branch with C. marginatus and C. mexicanus ticks and not with Ornithodoros. This supports the revision suggested by Klompen and Oliver (1993).

First Record of Leptospira borgpetersenii Isolation in the Amami Islands, Japan

In 2003, a Leptospira survey was performed on Yoroshima Island of the Amami Islands located in the southwestern part of Japan. Seven Leptospira strains were isolated from the field rat Rattus rattus, which were identified as L. borgpetersenii by flaB sequencing, 16S rDNA sequencing and gyrB sequencing, and serovar Javanica was determined by a microscopic agglutination test. NotI‐long restriction fragment analysis indicated that these isolates were genetically indistinguishable from an isolate from the Okinawa Islands. The present results suggest that L. borgpetersenii is migrating into the Amami Islands in Japan.

The Chewing Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Amblycera) of Japanese Pigeons and Doves (Columbiformes), with Descriptions of Three New Species

Abstract:  The chewing louse fauna of pigeons and doves in Japan is reviewed based on published records and new collections. An updated checklist of the chewing lice of Japanese pigeons and doves is provided, and 3 new species are described: Columbicola asukae n. sp. and Coloceras nakamurai n. sp., both from Columba janthina Temminck, 1830 (Japanese wood pigeon), and Columbicola lemoinei n. sp. from Treron formosae permagnus Stejneger, 1887, and Treron formosae medioximus (Bangs, 1901) (whistling green-pigeons). This checklist includes data on the first records of Coloceras chinense (Kellogg and Chapman, 1902), Coloceras piriformis (Tendeiro, 1969), and Columbicola guimaraesi Tendeiro, 1965, in Japan. New host records of Hohorstiella sp. from Columba janthina and Treron formosae permagnus, and Coloceras sp. from Treron sieboldii sieboldii (Temminck, 1835) (white-bellied green-pigeon) are provided.

Ixodes philipi: Redescription of Female and First Description of Male, with Records from Streaked Shearwater in Japan (Acarina: Ixodidae)

Abstract Ixodes philipi Keirans & Kohls, 1970 is so far known only from two female specimens taken from the streaked shearwater, Puffinus leucomelas (Temminck, 1835) [presently Calonectris leucomelas (Temminck, 1835)], or the madeiran storm-petrel, Oceanodroma castro (Harcourt, 1851), in Japan. We redescribe the female and describe the male of this species. We used nine adults (four males and five females) taken from the bodies of C. leucomelas and/or soil samples of their nest burrows in Japan, indicating that C. leucomelas is the main natural host bird of I. philipi.