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.[7] The genus and family were named for the bacteriologist
George Nuttall, a specialist in diseases transmitted by ticks. As of 1980, only eighteen specimens had been collected.[6] 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.[6]
Distribution
Nuttalliella namaqua has been observed in Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. Localities of collection include coastal (west and south) and inland sites (north). The Namibia specimens were collected from museum mammal skins in
Kuboes. The biomes represented by these locations are: mixed tree and shrub savannah,
Nama Karoo and
Succulent Karoo.[6]
Behavior
N. namaqua is believed to be a generalist when choosing a host.[8]N. namaqua has been collected from mammals, reptiles and birds' nests.[6] Genetic sequencing of blood found in N. namaqua show a wide diversity of lizard hosts.[8]
^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.
^
abMans, 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.