The natural history of the sea snake tick Amblyomma nitidum Hirst and Hirst, 1910 (Ixodidae: Amblyomminae) and its first definitive country record in the Philippines

Amblyomma nitidum Hirst and Hirst, 1910 is a seldom-collected species of reptile-associated bont tick known from the Oriental faunal realm and western Australasia. This species exhibits narrow host specificity and is exclusively associated with the genus Laticauda Laurenti, 1768 (sea kraits). In this paper, we provide the first definitive record of A. nitidum from the Philippines as well as an overview of its natural history, including current taxonomic status, geographic distribution, ecology, and associated microbiota.