Ticks (Acarina: Ixodidae) of reptiles from central, Lusaka and southern provinces of Zambia.

During the period 1988-1991, reptiles (23 snakes, 36 tortoises, 25 chameleons and 2 monitor lizards) from Central, Lusaka and Southern Provinces of Zambia were caught and checked for ticks. Only 2 snakes, respectively one Python sebae (Gmelin, 1789) and one Bitis arietans (Merrem, 1820), 8 tortoises, respectively seven Geochelone pardalis (Bell, 1828) and one Kinixys belliana (Gray, 1831) were found infested with a small number of ticks: nymphs and adults of Aponomma latum (Koch, 1844) and Amblyomma marmoreum Koch, 1844. Ticks were not observed on chameleons Chamaeleo dilepis (Leach, 1819) and monitor lizards Varanus niloticus (Linneo, 1758). The author makes some observations about the role and the effects of ticks on reptiles and discusses the present findings, comparing the data provided by other authors.