ArticleExperimental & applied acarology2026
Quantitative assessment of ticks in a hot cave in the Amazon reveals that the genus Antricola (Ixodida: Argasidae) has the highest cave tick population density on planet.
Article in Experimental & applied acarology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Within Argasidae ticks, the genus Antricola is restricted to the New World and exhibits a unique biology: only larvae are hematophagous and parasitize bats, whereas nymphs and adults are free-living and supposedly to feed on bat guano in hot caves with high temperatures (30-38 °C) and relative humidity close to 100%. This study quantified the tick population in an Amazonian hot cave located in the Natural Park of Porto Velho (Rondônia, Brazil), inhabited by thousands of insectivorous bats. Standardized guano samples (100 cm² at 10 points) were collected during dry and rainy seasons and examined in the laboratory. The guano-covered area totaled 146.34 m². A total of 7,388 ticks was collected in the dry season and 8,753 in the rainy season, with more than 99% belonging to Antricola, mainly A. delacruzi. The estimated mean density was 80,705 ticks/m², corresponding to an approximate population of 11.8 million individuals on the cave floor-the highest tick density ever recorded in a cave worldwide. Only nymphs and adults were found, suggesting that Antricola eggs and larvae remain in wall crevices, and that rapid larval development, combined with continuous guano feeding, promotes long post-larval longevity. These findings highlight a highly specialized host-parasite dynamic and emphasize the importance of conserving Amazonian cave ecosystems and surrounding forests, which are threatened by deforestation and other anthropogenic pressures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.