A checklist of chiggers from Brazil, including new records (Acari: Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae)

Abstract A checklist of the family Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae is presented, containing 63 species in 30 genera of chiggers from 80 different hosts and 146 localities in Brazil. The type locality and depository are provided, including new locality and host records for the country.


Introduction
The mites known as "chiggers" or "chigger mites" belong to three families: Trombiculidae Ewing, 1944, Leeuwenhoekiidae Womersley, 1944, and Walchiidae Ewing, 1946 sensu Wen (1999). The larvae are ectoparasites of vertebrates, and during the parasitism, they liquefy and suck the host's epithelial tissue by the enzymatic action of their saliva. Blood is not ingested in this process, but some blood cells can be found in the gut of the mite (Jones 1950). Deutonymphs and adults are free living predators (Crossley 1960).
Studies of the biology and taxonomy of these mites were intensified during World War II, thus increasing considerably the number of known species. Soldiers were attacked in encampments and contracted rickettsioses from infected larvae (Wharton and Fuller 1952). According to these authors, in the front of the situation, the public health departments were faced with the need for cataloging studies, description, morphology, and biology of these mites. Although they are considered potential vectors of pathogens, the role of these mites in the epidemiology of rickettsiosis is unknown in the Neotropical region (Azad andBeard 1998, Poinar andPoinar 1998).
In South America, the countries that have a checklist of chiggers species are: Venezuela , Peru (Brennan and Jones 1961), Surinam (Brennan and Lukoschus 1971) and recently Chile (Stekolnikov and González-Acuña 2015). Ewing (1931) compiled the first list of chigger mites from the New World, eight species from Brazil. Wharton and Fuller (1952) increased the number by eight genera and 18 species. Fonseca (1955) reported the first human hosts for Brazil. Brennan and Goff (1977) reported 87 chigger genera for the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, of which 18 were recorded from Brazil. The Brazilian territory is composed by five regions (north, northeast, centralwest, southeast and south), 26 states and one federal district (Contel 2014). Between the 1970s and 1990s, new species were described by various researchers from specimens collected primarily in the northern and central-western parts of the country, but have never been summarized (Stekolnikov and González-Acuña 2015). Therefore, here we are compiling a checklist of species from Brazil, including new hosts and localities.

Materials and methods
In the checklist, the taxa comprise two families, Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae. The genera and species are arranged alphabetically, in the follow format: Genus -Valid name, author and data; Species -Checklist number, valid name of species, author, date, type locality, host, and type depository, in parenthesis are the typification and the collection number, when available. In cases where the original host name has changed, the current host name is listed with the original host name in parenthesis. The host species were updated based on the IUCN (2017).
Details of the records in Brazil were provided based on the bibliographic review, followed to the new records for the country, when available. The new records from the checklist are based on the material deposited in the IBSP collection. Some of these species were also reported outside Brazilian territory. These recordings of literature were included in other records.
In addition, a list of chiggers from Brazil is summarized with their respective hosts (Appendix 1) and a list of vertebrate hosts and their respective chiggers and the published information from Brazil (Appendix 2).

Results
A Brazilian checklist with eight species of the family Leeuwenhoekiidae and 55 of the family Trombiculidae, totaling 63 chigger species in 30 genera from approximately 70 different hosts is presented. Some regions just have one or two chigger records and most of these records are represented by the type series. Species of the family Walchiidade were never recorded in the Brazilian territory until this work.

Eutrombicula goeldii
Records from Brazil. Only the type data, no locality information was provided by the author.

Records from Brazil.
In addition to the type data, this species was also found in Matão (São Paulo), on the same host (Fonseca 1932b). (Fonseca, 1936 Records from Brazil. In addition to the type data, this species was record in the same locality and host by Brennan and van Bronswijk (1973) and was also found in Bragança (Pará) parasitizing Necromys lasiurus (= Zygodontomys lasiurus) (Rodentia) and Didelphis marsupialis (Didelphimorphia) (Brennan and van Bronswijk 1973).

Kymocta inca
Records from Brazil. In addition to the type data, this species was record in the same locality and host by Brennan and van Bronswijk (1973) and on the rodent P. guyannensis in Bragança (Pará) (Brennan and van Bronswijk 1973).