Ixodes anatis, also called the kiwi tick, is a species of tick in the arthropod family Ixodidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and mainly parasitizes kiwi (family Apterygidae).
| Ixodes anatis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ixodida |
| Family: | Ixodidae |
| Genus: | Ixodes |
| Species: | I. anatis |
| Binomial name | |
| Ixodes anatis Chilton, 1904 | |
Ixodes anatis Chilton (1904), also called the kiwi tick, is a species of tick endemic to New Zealand. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The species was originally described by Charles Chilton in 1904. [8] It was given the name anatis because the first specimens were collected from a grey duck. [8] The type specimens are housed at Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand (CMNZ). [6] [5] [4]
Since its original description, the morphology of I. anatis has only been partially described and characterized. [5] [8] All stages of the species were recently re-described and illustrated. [5]
Ixodes anatis has a high host specificity and mainly parasitizes the North Island brown kiwi ( Apteryx mantelli ) and the tokoeka ( Apteryx australis ). [4] [5] There are a handful of records that show it may have also been found on certain species of waterfowl. [4] [5] It is considered to be an endophilous and nidicolous species, which means it lives within the burrows and nests of its host, the kiwi. [7]
Ixodes anatis is currently listed as "Not Threatened" in "Conservation status of parasitic mites and ticks (Acari) in New Zealand, 2021". [9] Although it was previously considered to be Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable, and although its bird hosts are threatened, a better understanding of its populations has led to an improved conservation status. [9]
Ticks are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, though the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates.
Mites are small arachnids. Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as each other's closest relative within Arachnida, rendering the group non-monophyletic. Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. The small size of most species makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially destructive Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as scabies mites of humans. Most species are harmless to humans, but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.
Varroa is a genus of parasitic mesostigmatan mites associated with honey bees, placed in its own family, Varroidae. The genus was named for Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar and beekeeper. The condition of a honeybee colony being infested with Varroa mites is called varroosis.
Varroa jacobsoni is a species of mite that parasitises Apis cerana. The more damaging Varroa destructor was previously included under the name V. jacobsoni, but the two species can be separated on the basis of the DNA sequence of the cytochrome oxidase I gene in the mitochondrial DNA.
Ixodiphagus hookeri, the tick wasp, is an encyrtid wasp which lays its eggs into ticks. It seems to use a symbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia pipientis, to weaken the tick's immune system.
Ixodes is a genus of hard-bodied ticks. It includes important disease vectors of animals and humans, and some species inject toxins that can cause paralysis. Some ticks in this genus may transmit the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi responsible for causing Lyme disease. Additional organisms that may be transmitted by Ixodes are parasites from the genus Babesia, which cause babesiosis, and bacteria from the related genus Anaplasma, which cause anaplasmosis.
Rhipicephalus is a genus of ticks in the family Ixodidae, the hard ticks, consisting of about 74 or 75 species. Most are native to tropical Africa.
Ixodes pacificus, the western black-legged tick, is a species of parasitic tick found on the western coast of North America. I. pacificus is a member of the family Ixodidae. It is the principal vector of Lyme disease in that region. I. pacificus typically feeds on lizards and small mammals therefore its rate of transmission of Lyme disease to humans is around 1% of adults. It is an ectoparasite that attaches itself to the outside of its host and feeds on the host's blood. It can have a heteroxenous lifestyle or monoxenous life cycle depending on how many hosts it feeds on in each cycle. I. pacificus has a four stage life cycle that takes around 3 years to complete. These stages include egg, larva, nymph, and adult. They prefer dense woodland habitats or areas of brush and tall grass.
Ixodes hexagonus, also known by the common name hedgehog tick, is a tick species in the genus Ixodes. It is a parasite of the European hedgehog.
Flumethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It is used externally in veterinary medicine against parasitic insects and ticks on cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs, and the treatment of parasitic mites in honeybee colonies.
Ixodes neuquenensis is a species of tick that lives on the monito del monte, a nocturnal marsupial that lives in the temperate forests of southern South America. Due to the near-threatened status of its host, Ixodes neuquenensis is also at risk.
Archaeocroton sphenodonti, or the tuatara tick, is a species of tick that parasitises only the tuatara of New Zealand. It is found on just four of the twelve island groups where tuatara survive, preferring islands where the reptiles live in high densities. Larvae, nymphs, and adults all feed exclusively on tuatara blood, and ticks can survive for up to a year without a host. When tuatara are translocated, the tick has been lost or survives only in low densities in the new population. It is the only living species in the genus Archaeocroton.
Ixodes siamensis is an ixodid tick that is parasitic on mammals in Thailand.
Ixodes angustus is a species of parasitic tick, whose range encompasses the majority of Canada and the United States, along with parts of northern Mexico. I. angustus is a member of the Ixodidae (hard-bodied) family of ticks. It is most abundant in cool, moist biomes such as riparian, boreal or montane zones. I. angustus is a host generalist and has been discovered feeding on more than 90 different host species, including humans and domestic dogs. I. angustus has been identified as a potential vector for Lyme disease but is not considered a principal vector due to the relative rarity with which it feeds on humans.
Kiwalges haastii is a species of New Zealand feather mite in the superfamily Analgoidea, known only from the great spotted kiwi, from which it derives its name.
Heath's tick is a critically endangered invertebrate native to the Australian alps. It has a close symbiotic relationship with the mountain pygmy possum, and is believed to depend on this species for its survival.
Kiwilichus is a genus of feather mites in Kiwilichidae, a monotypic family of mites that is endemic to New Zealand. Kiwi (Apteryx) are the host birds of the two species. Kiwilichus cryptosikyus is known to be hosted by southern brown kiwi and great spotted kiwi, and Kiwilichus delosikyus by southern brown kiwi.
Natalia Aleksandrovna Filippova was a world authority on the taxonomy of mites and especially ticks. Her monographs on the identification, morphology, development, distribution and behaviour of the family Argasidae and the sub-families of Ixodinae and Amblyomminae are standard works on these important vectors of disease.
Isabel Castro is professor of wildlife biology at Massey University in New Zealand. Her research focuses on conservation biology, primarily of birds and native ecosystems, but also including invertebrates and introduced mammals. She is a principal investigator in the Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence.
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