A note on Hyalomma nitidum Schulze, 1919, its distribution and its hosts

The paper summarises the morphological characteristics, the known geographical distribution and hosts of Hyalomma nitidum, a tick which has never been properly characterised. H. nitidum was first described in Cameroon in 1919, long considered as a synonym of Hyalomma truncatum and recognised as a separate and valid species only since the early 1970s. H. nitidum occurs from Senegal to the Central African Republic in more humid conditions than H. truncatum, roughly to the south of the isohyet of 900 mm. Adults are parasitic on various wild and domestic ungulates, on which immatures have not been found. Nymphs, identified after moulting to adults, have been found on a hare, and tentatively identified larvae and nymphs of this species have also been collected on hare as well as on a zebra mouse. The tick has been found infected with the virus of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, so far no other disease associations are known.