Ixodes keiransi, Nava & Beati & Venzal & Durden & Bermudez & Tarragona & Mangold & Gleason & Mastropaolo & Guglielmone, 2023

Nava, Santiago, Beati, Lorenza, Venzal, Jose M., Durden, Lance A., Bermudez, Sergio E., Tarragona, Evelina L., Mangold, Atilio J., Gleason, Debbie, Mastropaolo, Mariano & Guglielmone, Alberto A., 2023, Description of two new species in the Ixodes ricinus complex from the New World (Acari: Ixodidae), and redescription of Ixodes affinis Neumann, 1899, Zootaxa 5361 (1), pp. 53-73 : 62

Ixodes keiransi n. sp. Beati, Nava, Venzal and Guglielmone

Type locality. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Florida , Collier Co., Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (26°00’N, 81°25’W) .

Type material: Holotype ♀, allotype ♂, ex Puma concolor floridanus , [now P. c. couguar (Kerr, 1792)], 2 August 1991, United States, Florida , Collier Co., Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (collector unknown). Deposited in the U.S. National Tick Collection (USNMENT1786405, from original lot: RML122075, USNMENT985416), Georgia Southern University , Statesboro, United States.

Other material of Ixodes keiransi examined from the United States. 1♂ ex Lynx rufus, Hendry Co. , Florida (USNMENT985445); 1♀ ex O. virginianus, Bear Island Unit of Big Cypress National Preserve (26°14’N, 81°16’W), Collier Co. Florida (USNMENT985470) ; 1♂ ex vegetation, Wedge Plantation (33°10’N, 79°24’W), Charleston, South Carolina (USNMENT985435) ; 1♀ 1♂ ex O. virginianus, Collier Co. , Florida (USNMENT985473); 1♀ 1♂ ex O. virginianus Collier Co. , Florida (USNMENT985479); 2♀♀ ex P. concolor Bear Island Unit of Big Cypress National Preserve (26°14’N, 81°16’W), Collier Co. Florida (USNMENT985430) ; 1♀ ex P. concolor, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (26°00’N, 81°25’W), Collier Co., Florida (USNMENT985401) ; 2♀♀ ex P. concolor Bear Island Unit of Big Cypress National Preserve (26°14’N, 81°16’W), Collier Co. Florida (USNMENT985457) ; 1♀ ex P. concolor, Evergaldes National Park , Dade Co., Florida (USNMENT985409) ; 7♀♀ ex P. concolor, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (26°00’N, 81°25’W), Collier Co., Florida (USNMENT985418) ; 5♀♀ 6♂♂ ex P. concolor, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (26°00’N, 81°25’W), Collier Co., Florida (USNMENT985402) ; 11♀♀ 4♂♂ ex P. concolor, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve (26°00’N, 81°25’W), Collier Co., Florida (USNMENT985416) ; 1♀ 1♂ ex P. concolor , Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (26°10’ N, 81°22’W), Collier Co. Florida (USNMENT985425) ; 2♀♀ 1♂ ex P. concolor, Bear Island Unit of Big Cypress National Preserve (26°14’N, 81°16’W), Collier Co. Florida (USNMENT985405) .

ZooBank registration: Details of the new species have been submitted to ZooBank (http://zoobank.org/). The Life Science Identifier ( LSID) for the new name Ixodes keiransi is 00CB6A0F-7DF0-4E5C-83F2-F5CAAF68CC02.

Etymology: The species is named in memory of James Edward Keirans, curator of the U.S. National Tick Collection from 1969 to 2005, in recognition of his major contributions to the study of tick taxonomy.