Redescription and lectotype designation of the species Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910) (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae)

ABSTRACT

Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910) is the most common chigger parasitic on humans and widely distributed throughout the Americas. Examination of the type specimens revealed differences from those of the original description and subsequent redescriptions. A detailed redescription based on an examination of the type specimens of E. alfreddugesi is provided and illustrated with micrographs to aid in identification, as well as designating a lectotype and a paralectotype for this species. The distribution of E. alfreddugesi may be much more restricted than what has been reported in the literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Chigger
• ectoparasite
• Acari
• types
• collection

Acknowledgments

To Gabrielle Ribeiro de Andrade, Maria Cristina Ferreira do Rosário from the Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, and Andrew Ulsamer from the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA for technical contribution; Bram van der Bijl, Kees van den Berg, and Jeroen Goud from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands, for giving us the access to the Oudemans’s Collection, allowing us to examine the syntypes of E. alfreddugesi. The Smithsonian Natural History Museum and National Agricultural Library (NAL-USDA), SEL-USDA for support and assistance with specimens and references. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the USDA; USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico under the Grant CNPq no. 402575/2021-0 (FCJ) and the Productivity Grant of DMB-B (CNPq Process #303802/2021-9) and by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo under the Grant FAPESP no. 2017/01416-7 (RB-S), 2018/24667-8 (RB-S), 2020/11755-6 (RB-S), and 2019/19853-0 (FCJ). Also, this study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001.