Ixodes tasmani | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Ixodida |
Family: | Ixodidae |
Genus: | Ixodes |
Species: | I. tasmani |
Binomial name | |
Ixodes tasmani Neumann, 1899 | |
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Range of I. tasmani in eastern Australia. Red depicts a high population size while orange represents mid population size |
Ixodes tasmani, [1] [2] colloquially known as the common marsupial tick, [3] is an Australian species of hard-bodied tick. It is a common vector for certain pathogens. There are around 70 species of ticks found in Australia, 16 of which, Ixodes tasmani included, are able to parasitize humans. [4]
The Ixodes tasmani was formally described in 1899 by the French parasitologist Louis Georges Neumann. He chose the specific epithet to honour the memory of the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman who had discovered Tasmania. [5] [6]
Ixodes tasmani exhibits a few anatomical differences compared to other ticks species. The most important is that they tend to have a much shorter mouthpiece, and to compensate for this, this species can produce cement that attaches them more firmly to their host. [6] Ixodes tasmani's entire life cycle can be completed in as little as four months. It has been found on 42 species of hosts, with most being the Australian marsupials, monotremes, rodents, domestic animals, and humans but has never been recorded on birds or reptiles. [6] Ixodes tasmani is a three-host tick, meaning that it will switch to different hosts between each of its critical life stages. [7]
The Ixodes tasmani have been observed to follow a diurnal rhythm of detachment from their hosts, meaning they detach themselves from their hosts during 'daylight' hours so they can stay near or in the hosts' dens while they sleep. Due to this behavior, it has been concluded that this species is a nidicolous tick meaning that no matter the stage of life, this tick will live in and around the resting place of its host. [6]
I. tasmani is one of the two most commonly encountered species of Ixodes in eastern Australia (the other species is I. holocyclus). [8] Roberts (1970) [9] wrote that "this tick is certainly the most common and abundant species in Tasmania and has been recorded there in numerous localities. It is also widespread in Victoria. In New South Wales, there are records of its occurrence throughout the entire coastal and sub coastal areas with inland extensions to Moree, Dubbo, and Kosciusko. The species is known in Queensland throughout the coastal and sub coastal areas from Iron Range in the north and inland to Emerald and Roma. There are also several records from southeastern South Australia and south-western Western Australia".
The preferred habitats of this tick consist of tree hollows, in dense vegetation and burrows or dens. [10]
Ixodes tasmani is a known vector for several pathogens such as Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia australis, Rickettsia honei, Rickettsia honei subsp. marmionii. All of these pathogens will cause Q fever, Queensland tick typhus (QTT), Flinders Island spotted fever (FISF), and Australian spotted fever (ASF). [11] Each of these diseases would be considered a zoonotic disease because it is transferred from animals to humans. A zoonotic pathogen can be bacterial, viral, or parasitic, and the transference to humans depends on the type of pathogens. [12]
Rickettsia is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci, bacilli, or threads. The genus was named after Howard Taylor Ricketts in honor of his pioneering work on tick-borne spotted fever.
Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They 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.
The Ixodidae are the family of hard ticks or scale ticks, one of the three families of ticks, consisting of over 700 species. They are known as 'hard ticks' because they have a scutum or hard shield, which the other major family of ticks, the 'soft ticks' (Argasidae), lack. They are ectoparasites of a wide range of host species, and some are vectors of pathogens that can cause human disease.
Rickettsia rickettsii is a Gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium that was first discovered in 1902. Having a reduced genome, the bacterium harvests nutrients from its host cell to carry out respiration, making it an organoheterotroph. Maintenance of its genome is carried out through vertical gene transfer where specialization of the bacterium allows it to shuttle host sugars directly into its TCA cycle.
Tick-borne diseases, which afflict humans and other animals, are caused by infectious agents transmitted by tick bites. They are caused by infection with a variety of pathogens, including rickettsia and other types of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The economic impact of tick-borne diseases is considered to be substantial in humans, and tick-borne diseases are estimated to affect ~80 % of cattle worldwide. Most of these pathogens require passage through vertebrate hosts as part of their life cycle. Tick-borne infections in humans, farm animals, and companion animals are primarily associated with wildlife animal reservoirs. Many tick-borne infections in humans involve a complex cycle between wildlife animal reservoirs and tick vectors. The survival and transmission of these tick-borne viruses are closely linked to their interactions with tick vectors and host cells. These viruses are classified into different families, including Asfarviridae, Reoviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Flaviviridae.
Hepatozoon is a genus of Apicomplexa alveolates which incorporates over 300 species of obligate intraerythrocytic parasites. Species have been described from all groups of tetrapod vertebrates, as well as a wide range of haematophagous arthropods, which serve as both the vectors and definitive hosts of the parasite. By far the most biodiverse and prevalent of all haemogregarines, the genus is distinguished by its unique reciprocal trophic lifecycle which lacks the salivary transmission between hosts commonly associated with other apicomplexans. While particularly prevalent in amphibians and reptiles, the genus is more well known in veterinary circles for causing a tick-borne disease called hepatozoonosis in some mammals.
Dermacentor variabilis, also known as the American dog tick or wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. It is one of the best-known hard ticks. Diseases are spread when it sucks blood from the host. It may take several days for the host to experience symptoms.
A canine vector-borne disease (CVBD) is one of "a group of globally distributed and rapidly spreading illnesses that are caused by a range of pathogens transmitted by arthropods including ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and phlebotomine sandflies." CVBDs are important in the fields of veterinary medicine, animal welfare, and public health. Some CVBDs are of zoonotic concern.
Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease affecting ruminants, dogs, and horses, and is caused by Anaplasma bacteria. Anaplasmosis is an infectious but not contagious disease. Anaplasmosis can be transmitted through mechanical and biological vector processes. Anaplasmosis can also be referred to as "yellow bag" or "yellow fever" because the infected animal can develop a jaundiced look. Other signs of infection include weight loss, diarrhea, paleness of the skin, aggressive behavior, and high fever.
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.
Ixodes scapularis is commonly known as the deer tick or black-legged tick, and in some parts of the US as the bear tick. It was also named Ixodes dammini until it was shown to be the same species in 1993. It is a hard-bodied tick found in the eastern and northern Midwest of the United States as well as in southeastern Canada. It is a vector for several diseases of animals, including humans and is known as the deer tick owing to its habit of parasitizing the white-tailed deer. It is also known to parasitize mice, lizards, migratory birds, etc. especially while the tick is in the larval or nymphal stage.
Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick. It may reach a length of 11 mm (0.43 in) when engorged with a blood meal, and can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
Rhipicephalus sanguineus, commonly called the brown dog tick, kennel tick, or pantropical dog tick, is a species of tick found worldwide, but more commonly in warmer climates. This species is unusual among ticks in that its entire lifecycle can be completed indoors. The brown dog tick is easily recognized by its reddish-brown color, elongated body shape, and hexagonal basis capituli. Adults are 2.28 to 3.18 mm in length and 1.11 to 1.68 mm in width. They do not have ornamentation on their backs.
The northern white-breasted hedgehog is a species of hedgehog native to Eurasia.
Dermacentor is a genus of ticks in the family Ixodidae, the hard ticks. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with native species on all continents except Australia. Most are found in North America.
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 larvae and nymphs typically feeds on lizards and small mammals, while adults typically feed on deer. 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.
Queensland tick typhus is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia australis. It is transmitted by the ticks Ixodes holocyclus and Ixodes tasmani.
Rickettsia australis is a bacterium that causes a medical condition called Queensland tick typhus. The probable vectors are the tick species, Ixodes holocyclus and Ixodes tasmani. Small marsupials are suspected reservoirs of this bacterium.
Rickettsia helvetica, previously known as the Swiss agent, is a bacterium found in Dermacentor reticulatus and other ticks, which has been implicated as a suspected but unconfirmed human pathogen. First recognized in 1979 in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Switzerland as a new member of the spotted fever group of Rickettsia, the R. helvetica bacterium was eventually isolated in 1993. Although R. helvetica was initially thought to be harmless in humans and many animal species, some individual case reports suggest that it may be capable of causing a nonspecific fever in humans. In 1997, a man living in eastern France seroconverted to Rickettsia 4 weeks after onset of an unexplained febrile illness. In 2010, a case report indicated that tick-borne R. helvetica can also cause meningitis in humans.