Ixodidae

Female Ixodes angustus, copyright MMCRI.

Belongs within: Parasitiformes.
Contains: Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, Dermacentor, Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes (Ixodes).

The Ixodidae, hard ticks, are a group of ticks characterised by the presence of a hardened dorsal scutum. Members of this group include the most familiar disease-vectoring ticks. Phylogenetically, the ixodids are divided between two lineages. One, including only the genus Ixodes, is characterised by the absence of festoons and an anal groove that extends anteriorly from the anus. The other, containing the remaining ixodids (the Metastriata), has members that usually possesses festoons (regular subdivisions of the posterior margin of the idiosoma) and in which the anal groove, if present, is restricted to the posterior of the anus. Genera of metastriate ticks include Bothriocroton, a group of ornate ticks found in Australasia on lizards, marsupials and echidnas. Bothriocroton is poorly defined morphologically and difficult to distinguish as adults from eyeless species of Amblyomma, but larvae bear three large wax glands laterally near setae s6 (anterior to the first festoon) whereas at most only one such gland is present in other metastriate ticks and none are found in Ixodes (Klompen et al. 2002).

Male ixodids feed sparingly compared to females which require large blood meals. In one species, Ixodes holocyclus, males may not feed directly on a vertebrate host, instead feeding on the haemolymph of conspecific females (Keirans 2009).

Characters (from Keirans 2009): Podonotal scutum present in larval and nymphal stages and in adult female; holonotal scutum present in male. Scutal ornamentation present or absent. Capitulum situated anteriorly in all active stages, visible when viewed from above. Palpi four-segmented; fourth segment usually inserted into a pit ventrally on segment III. Hypostome usually well armed with denticles, usually with a specific dental formula. Paired spiracular plates present in postlarval stages, situated dorsoventrally posterior to coxa IV.

<==Ixodidae [Ixodini]
    |  i. s.: Dermacentonomma Dias 1978 KDB02
    |         Palpoboophilus minningi Kishida 1936 TYM08
    |--Metastriata K09
    |    |  i. s.: Margaropus winthemi K09, B91
    |    |         Rhipicentor K09
    |    |         Nosomma K09
    |    |         Anomalohimalaya Hoogstraal, Kaiser & Mitchell 1970 K09, KDB02
    |    |         Cosmiomma hippopotamensis K09
    |    |--Haemaphysalis K09
    |    |--Rhipicephalinae WN01
    |    |    |--Rhipicephalus K09
    |    |    `--Dermacentor JR91
    |    |--Amblyomminae KDB02
    |    |    |--Amblyomma K09
    |    |    `--Hyalomma LD91
    |    `--Bothriocroton Keirans, King & Sharrad 1994 K09, KDB02 [Bothriocrotoninae]
    |         |--*B. glebopalma (Keirans, King & Sharrad 1994) [=Aponomma (*Bothriocroton) glebopalma] KDB02
    |         |--B. auruginans (Schulze 1936) [=Aponomma auruginans] KDB02
    |         |--B. concolor (Neumann 1899) KDB02 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |--B. hydrosauri (Denny 1843) KDB02 (see below for synonymy)
    |         `--B. undatum (Fabricius 1775) KDB02 (see below for synonymy)
    `--Ixodes Latreille 1795 KDB02 [Ixodinae, Prostriata K09]
         |  i. s.: I. anatis Chilton 1904 NS00
         |         I. antechini Roberts 1960 H98
         |         I. auritulus Neumann 1904 H98
         |         I. australasiae Fabricius 1805 (n. d.) H01
         |         I. australiensis Neumann 1904 T13
         |         I. borealis T04
         |         I. canisuga LO91
         |         I. carinatus Kishida 1930 TYM08
         |         I. cordifer Neumann 1908 H98
         |         I. cornuatus Roberts 1960 H98
         |         I. coxalis Gervais 1842 (n. d.) H01
         |         I. crenulatus CF77
         |         I. diversifossus BS37
         |         I. eudyptidis Maskell 1885 H98
         |         I. fecialis Warburton & Nuttall 1909 (see below for synonymy) H98
         |         I. flavipes [=Sarconissus flavipes] CF77
         |         I. fuscus CF77
         |         I. gibbosus KK91
         |         I. hirsti Hassall 1931 [incl. I. victoriensis Hirst 1930 non Nuttall 1916] H98
         |         I. holocyclus Neumann 1899 [incl. I. rossianus Schulze 1935] KDB02
         |         I. hydromyidis Swan 1931 H98
         |         I. kohlsi Arthur 1955 H98
         |         I. kopsteini (Oudemans 1925) (see below for synonymy) H98
         |         I. lacertae CF77
         |         I. lisphilus Kishida 1930 TYM08
         |         I. loricatus Neumann 1899 L07
         |         I. minor BS37
         |         I. moluccus Doleschall 1859 D59
         |         I. myrmecobii Roberts 1962 H98
         |         I. ornithorhynchi Lucas 1845 H98
         |         I. ovatus (Neumann 1899) MN91
         |         I. phascolomyis MacAlister 1871 (n. d.) [=I. phascolomys] H98
         |         I. pictus CF77
         |         I. pterodromae Arthur 1960 H98
         |         I. punctulatus Canestrini & Fanzago 1877 CF77
         |         I. redikorzevi Olenev 1927 A56
         |           |--I. r. redikorzevi A56
         |           `--I. r. emberizae Pomerantzev 1950 A56
         |         I. reduvius (Linnaeus 1758) K01, L58 (see below for synonymy)
         |         I. rothschildi Nuttall & Warburton 1911 [=I. perexcavatus var. rothschildi] H98
         |         I. rufus CF77
         |         I. sexpunctatus CF77
         |         I. simplex Neumann 1906 H98
         |         I. tasmani Neumann 1899 H98
         |           |--I. t. tasmani H98
         |           `--I. t. victoriae Schulze 1935 H98
         |         I. tertiarius Scudder 1890 S93
         |         I. trianguliceps K91
         |         I. trichosuri Roberts 1960 H98
         |         I. uriae White 1852 [=Ceratixodes uriae; incl. Hyalomma puta Cambridge 1876, Ixodes putus] H98
         |         I. vespertilionis Koch 1844 H98
         |         I. vestitus Neumann 1908 H98
         |         I. victoriensis Nuttall 1916 H98
         |--I. (Ixodes) HRK91
         |--I. (Afrixodes) rubicundus BK96
         |--I. (Ixodiopsis Filippova 1957) HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) angustus Neumann 1899 HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) eastoni Keirans & Clifford 1983 HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) ochotonae Gregson 1941 HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) pomarentzevi Serdyukova 1941 HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) soricis Gregson 1942 HRK91
         |    |--I. (I.) stromi Filippova 1957 HRK91
         |    `--I. (I.) woodi Bishopp 1911 HRK91
         |--I. (Multidentatus Clifford, Sonenshine et al. 1973) HRK91
         |    `--I. (M.) laysanensis HRK91
         |--I. (Pholeoixodes Schulze 1942) HRK91
         |    |--I. (P.) arboricola Schulze & Schlottke 1929 L96
         |    |--I. (P.) cookei Packard 1869 HRK91 [=I. (Ixodiopsis) cookei F91]
         |    |--I. (P.) hearlei Gregson 1941 HRK91
         |    |--I. (P.) hexagonus Leach 1815 HRK91
         |    |--I. (P.) lividus Koch 1814 HRK91
         |    `--I. (P.) marmotae Cooley & Kohls 1938 HRK91
         `--I. (Sternalixodes Schulze 1935) HRK91
              `--I. (S.) confusus Roberts 1960 HRK91, H98

Bothriocroton concolor (Neumann 1899) KDB02 [=Aponomma concolor KDB02; incl. A. galactites Schulze 1941 H98, A. oudemansi Neumann 1910 H98, A. tropicum Roberts 1953 H98]

Bothriocroton hydrosauri (Denny 1843) KDB02 [=Aponomma hydrosauri KDB02; incl. A. tachyglossi Roberts 1953 H98, Ixodes trachysauri Denny 1843 H98, A. trachysauri KDB02]

Bothriocroton undatum (Fabricius 1775) KDB02 [=Acarus undatus KDB02, Aponomma undatum KDB02; incl. Ixodes decorosus Koch 1867 H98, Ap. decorosum KDB02, I. varani Koch 1867 H98]

Ixodes fecialis Warburton & Nuttall 1909 [incl. I. fecialis var. aegrifossus Warburton & Nuttall 1909] H98

Ixodes kopsteini (Oudemans 1925) [=Eschatocephalus ropsteini, E. kopsteini; incl. Ixodes paradoxus Kohls & Clifford 1961] H98

Ixodes reduvius (Linnaeus 1758) K01, L58 [=Acarus reduvius CF77, Cynorhaestes reduvius CF77; incl. Ricinus caninus CF77, C. hermanni CF77, Ixodes marmoratus CF77, C. megathyreus CF77, Pediculus ovinus CF77, Acarus ricinoides CF77]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A56] Anastos, G. 1956. The ticks (Acarina: Ixodoidea) of the J. Klapperich Afghanistan Expedition, 1952 and 1953. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 46 (1): 18–19.

[B91] Belozerov, V. N. 1991. Evolution of life cycles in ticks (Ixodidae) due to climate seasonality. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 2 pp. 135–139. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[BK96] Belozerov, V. N., D. J. Kok, L. J. Fourie & S. A. Leonovich. 1996. The external structure of Haller’s sensory organ in the karoo paralysis tick Ixodes (Afrixodes) rubicundus Neum. (Ixodidae). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 397–399. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[BS37] Bishopp, F. C., & C. N. Smith. 1937. A new species of Ixodes from Massachusetts. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 39 (6): 133–138.

[CF77] Canestrini, G., & F. Fanzago. 1877. Intorno agli Acari Italiani. Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Serie 5, 4: 69–208, pls 2–7.

[D59] Doleschall, C. L. 1859. Tweede Bijdrage tot de kennis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel. Verhandelingen der Natuurkundige Vereeniging in Nederlandsch Indie [Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae] 5 (5): 1–60, pls 1–18.

[F91] Filippova, N. A. 1991. A hypothesis for the palaeogenesis of the distribution of the main vectors for Lyme disease. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 109–118. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[H98] Halliday, R. B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.

[H01] Halliday, R. B. 2001. 250 years of Australian acarology. In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 3–16. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[HRK91] Homsher, P. J., R. G. Robbins & J. E. Keirans. 1991. Scanning electron microscopy of Haller’s organ for subgeneric systematic studies in the genus Ixodes. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 2 pp. 335–342. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[JR91] Jaworski, D. C., R. Rosell, L B. Coons & G. R. Needham. 1991. Evidence that a 90 kDa tick salivary gland polypeptide is a cement component. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 335–340. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[KK91] Kamarinchev, B., T. Kovacheva, T. Christova, G. Georgieva & V. Zlatanova. 1991. Studies on mosquitoes and ticks as carriers of alpha-, flavi- and bunyaviruses. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 2 pp. 89–92. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[K09] Keirans, J. E. 2009. Order Ixodida. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 111–123. Texas Tech University Press.

[KDB02] Klompen, H., S. J. Dobson & S. C. Barker. 2002. A new subfamily, Bothriocrotoninae n. subfam., for the genus Bothriocroton Keirans, King & Sharrad, 1994 status amend. (Ixodida: Ixodidae), and the synonymy of Aponomma Neumann, 1899 with Amblyomma Koch, 1844. Systematic Parasitology 53: 101–107.

[K91] Kohn, M. 1991. Influence of the refuse dump biotopes on ecology of some gamasoid mites and ticks. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 199–204. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[K01] Kulczyński, V. 1901. Arachnoideák [Arachnoidea]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 311–369. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[L07] Lareschi, M. 2007. Seasonal occurrence of ectoparasites associated with the water rat Scapteromys aquaticus (Muridae, Sigmodontinae) from Punta Lara, Argentina. In: Morales-Malacara, J. B., V. M. Behan-Pelletier, E. Ueckermann, T. M. Pérez, E. G. Estrada-Venegas & M. Badii (eds) Acarology XI: Proceedings of the International Congress pp. 233–240. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

[LD91] Leonovich, S. A., & F. Dusbábek. 1991. Pheromone sensory subsystem in ticks: correlation between structure of sensilla and evolution of behaviour. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 53–58. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[L96] Liebisch, G. 1996. Biology and life cycle of Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) arboricola Schulze and Schlottke, 1929 (Ixodidae). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 453–455. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[LO91] Liebisch, A., & S. Olbrich. 1991. The hedgehog tick, Ixodes hexagonus Leach, 1815, as a vector of Borrelia burgdorferi in Europe. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 2 pp. 67–71. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[MN91] Miyamoto, K., M. Nakao, N. Sato & M. Mori. 1991. Isolation of Lyme borreliosis spirochaetes from tick vectors and feral rodents in Japan. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 125–132. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[NS00] Nicholls, D. C., P. J. Sirvid, S. D. Pollard & M. Walker. 2000. A list of arachnid primary types held in Canterbury Museum. Records of the Canterbury Museum 14: 37–48.

[S93] Selden, P. A. 1993. Arthropoda (Aglaspidida, Pycnogonida and Chelicerata). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 297–320. Chapman & Hall: London.

[T13] Taylor, C. K. 2013. Annotated bibliography for Barrow Island terrestrial invertebrates. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 83: 135–144.

[TYM08] Tennent, W. J., M. Yasuda & K. Morimoto. 2008. Lansania Journal of arachnology and zoology—a rare and obscure Japanese natural history journal. Archives of Natural History 35 (2): 252–280.

[T04] Trägårdh, I. 1904. Fauna Arctica: Eine Zusammenstellung der arktischen Tierformen, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Spitzbergen-Gebietes auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Deutschen Expedition in das Nördliche Eismeer im Jahre 1898 vol. 4 pt 1. Monographie der arktischen Acariden. Gustav Fischer: Jena.

[WN01] Wang, H., & P. A. Nuttall. 2001. Characterisation of immunoglobulin G binding proteins in male Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 618–621. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

Last updated: 18 March 2019.