Ixodidae

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Ixodidae
Temporal range: Cretaceous–present
Ixodus ricinus 5x.jpg
Ixodes ricinus (engorged)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Ixodida
Superfamily: Ixodoidea
Family: Ixodidae
C. L. Koch, 1844

The Ixodidae are the family of hard ticks or scale ticks, [1] one of the three families of ticks, consisting of 742 species, as of 2025. [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Description

The Ixodidae are distinguished from the Argasidae by the presence of a scutum. [4] In both the nymph and the adult, a prominent gnathosoma (or capitulum, mouth and feeding parts) projects forward from the animal's body; in the Argasidae, conversely, the gnathosoma is concealed beneath the body.[ citation needed ]

Ixodidae attach to a host bite painlessly and are generally unnoticed, and they remain in place until they engorge and are ready to moult; this process may take days or weeks. Some species drop off the host to moult in a safe place, whereas others remain on the same host and only drop off once they are ready to lay their eggs.[ citation needed ]

Classification

The Ixodidae is composed of a wide range of genera. The family is distinguished by the presence of a hard, shell-like scutum Ticks Donitz.jpg
The Ixodidae is composed of a wide range of genera. The family is distinguished by the presence of a hard, shell-like scutum

The Ixodidae is divided into two groups: the Prostriata and the Metastriata, distinguished by the position of the anal groove, which is anterior in the former, and posterior in the latter. [5] As of 2025, the Ixodidae is composed of 742 extant species in 18 genera. [2]

The Prostriata is composed of one genus:

The Metastriata are divided into the following two lineages: [6] [7]

Amblyocephalus

Haematobothrion

Unresolved

Fossil genera [d]


The Ixodidae is also sometimes classified by its subfamilies, but the current formulations do not encompass all species. There are currently five recognised subfamilies:


Medical importance

Many hard ticks are of considerable medical importance, acting as vectors of diseases caused by bacteria, protozoa, and viruses, such as Rickettsia and Borrelia . [4] Other tick-borne diseases include Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, Southern tick-associated rash illness, tick-borne relapsing fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, Powassan encephalitis, and Q fever. [19] Ixodid ticks are the primary vectors of tick paralysis, which can affect domestic dogs, cats and livestock, as well as humans. [20]

Notes

  1. ↑ The elevation of Africaniella in 2020, and Cryptocroton in 2024 reduces the count of this genus in Guglielmone et al (2020) by three. [8] [9]
  2. ↑ N. keralensis was proposed in 2007, but has subsequently been rejected
  3. ↑ The elevation of Alloceraea in 2024 reduces the count of this genus in Guglielmone et al (2020) by six. [13]
  4. ↑ Other genera, such as Alloceraea and Bothriocroton have recognised paleobiota species
  5. ↑ Hyalomma and Nosomma were formerly considered part of the Hyalomminae, but this subfamily has subsequently been sunk into the Rhipicephalinae. [17] [18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ixodidae". NCBI taxonomy. Bethesda, Maryland: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2017. Lineage( full ) cellular organisms; Eukaryota; Opisthokonta; Metazoa; Eumetazoa; Bilateria; Protostomia; Ecdysozoa; Panarthropoda; Arthropoda; Chelicerata; Arachnida; Acari; Parasitiformes; Ixodida; Ixodoidea
  2. 1 2 Guglielmone, A. A., Petney, T. N., & Robbins, R. G. (2020). Ixodidae (Acari: Ixodoidea): descriptions and redescriptions of all known species from 1758 to December 31, 2019. Zootaxa, 4871(1). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4871.1.1
  3. ↑ Sonenshine, D. E., & Roe, R. (2014). Biology of ticks. (Second edition). Oxford University Press.
  4. 1 2 D. H. Molyneux (1993). "Vectors". In Francis E. G. Cox (ed.). Modern parasitology: a textbook of parasitology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 53–74. ISBN   978-0-632-02585-5. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  5. ↑ Guglielmone, Alberto A. (2021). Neotropical Hard Ticks (Acari: A Critical Analysis of Their Taxonomy, Distribution, and Host Relationships. Santiago Nava, Richard G. Robbins. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG. ISBN   978-3-030-72352-1.
  6. ↑ Kelava, Samuel; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Shao, Renfu; Gofton, Alexander W.; Mans, Ben J.; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Norval, Gerrut; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo; Barker, Stephen C. (2024). "Insights from entire mitochondrial genome sequences into the phylogeny of ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis and Archaeocroton with the elevation of the subgenus Alloceraea Schulze, 1919 back to the status of a genus". Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 38 (2): 189–204. doi:10.1111/mve.12708. ISSN   0269-283X.
  7. ↑ Kelava, Samuel; Mans, Ben J.; Shao, Renfu; Barker, Dayana; Teo, Ernest J.M.; Chatanga, Elisha; Gofton, Alexander W.; Moustafa, Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed; Nakao, Ryo; Barker, Stephen C. (2023). "Seventy-eight entire mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rRNA genes provide insight into the phylogeny of the hard ticks, particularly the Haemaphysalis species, Africaniella transversale and Robertsicus elaphensis". Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 14 (2) 102070. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102070.
  8. 1 2 Hornok, Sándor; Kontschán, Jenő; Takács, Nóra; Chaber, Anne-Lise; Halajian, Ali; Abichu, Getachew; Kamani, Joshua; Szekeres, Sándor; Plantard, Olivier (2020-11-01). "Molecular phylogeny of Amblyomma exornatum and Amblyomma transversale, with reinstatement of the genus Africaniella (Acari: Ixodidae) for the latter". Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 11 (6) 101494. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101494. ISSN   1877-959X.
  9. ↑ Barker, Stephen C.; Kelava, Samuel; Mans, Ben J.; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Seeman, Owen D.; Gofton, Alexander; Shao, Renfu; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Evasco, Kimberley L.; Soennichsen, Kari F.; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo (2024-02-12). "The first cryptic genus of Ixodida, Cryptocroton n. gen. for Amblyomma papuanum Hirst, 1914: a tick of North Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea" . Zootaxa. 5410 (1): 91–111. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5410.1.5. ISSN   1175-5334.
  10. ↑ Kelava, Samuel; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Shao, Renfu; Gofton, Alexander W.; Mans, Ben J.; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Norval, Gerrut; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo; Barker, Stephen C. (June 2024). "Insights from entire mitochondrial genome sequences into the phylogeny of ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis and Archaeocroton with the elevation of the subgenus Alloceraea Schulze, 1919 back to the status of a genus". Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 38 (2): 189–204. doi: 10.1111/mve.12708 . ISSN   0269-283X.
  11. ↑ Barker, S. C., & Burger, T. D. (2018). Two new genera of hard ticks, Robertsicus n. Gen. And Archaeocroton n. Gen., and the solution to the mystery of Hoogstraal's and Kaufman's "primitive" tick from the Carpathian Mountains. Zootaxa, 4500(4). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4500.4.4
  12. ↑ Barker, Stephen C.; Kelava, Samuel; Mans, Ben J.; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Seeman, Owen D.; Gofton, Alexander; Shao, Renfu; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Evasco, Kimberley L.; Soennichsen, Kari F.; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo (2024-02-12). "The first cryptic genus of Ixodida, Cryptocroton n. gen. for Amblyomma papuanum Hirst, 1914: a tick of North Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea" . Zootaxa. 5410 (1): 91–111. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5410.1.5. ISSN   1175-5334.
  13. ↑ Kelava, Samuel; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Shao, Renfu; Gofton, Alexander W.; Mans, Ben J.; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Norval, Gerrut; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo; Barker, Stephen C. (June 2024). "Insights from entire mitochondrial genome sequences into the phylogeny of ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis and Archaeocroton with the elevation of the subgenus Alloceraea Schulze, 1919 back to the status of a genus". Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 38 (2): 189–204. doi: 10.1111/mve.12708 . ISSN   0269-283X.
  14. ↑ Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Greiman, Stephen E.; Goodman, Steven M.; Apanaskevich, Maria A.; Ahmed, Rokeya; Barker, Stephen C. (2025-04-29). "Validation of Sharifiella Santos Dias, 1958 (Acari: Ixodidae) as a genus of hard ticks containing S. theilerae (Hoogstraal, 1953), a parasite of tail-less tenrec, Tenrec ecaudatus (Schreber) (Afrosoricida: Tenrecidae) on Madagascar". Zootaxa. 5627 (3): 503–525. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5627.3.5. ISSN   1175-5334.
  15. ↑ Barker, S. C., & Burger, T. D. (2018). Two new genera of hard ticks, Robertsicus n. Gen. And Archaeocroton n. Gen., and the solution to the mystery of Hoogstraal's and Kaufman's "primitive" tick from the Carpathian Mountains. Zootaxa, 4500(4). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4500.4.4
  16. ↑ Barker, S.C., Kelava, S., Murrell, A., Cho, M., Teo, E.J.M., Nakao, R. & Apanaskevich, D.A. (2025) Margaropus Karsch, 1879 is not closely related to Boophilus Curtice, 1891 (Acari: Ixodidae). Zootaxa, 5569 (3), 477–492. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5569.3.4
  17. ↑ Barker, S. C., & Murrell, A. (2002). Phylogeny, Evolution and Historical Zoogeography of Ticks: A Review of Recent Progress.
  18. ↑ Nava S, Guglielmone AA, Mangold AJ. An overview of systematics and evolution of ticks. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2009 Jan 1;14(8):2857-77. doi: 10.2741/3418. PMID: 19273240.
  19. ↑ "CDC - Tick-Borne Diseases - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic". www.cdc.gov. 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  20. ↑ Masina, S; Broady, K. W (1999-04-01). "Tick paralysis: development of a vaccine". International Journal for Parasitology. 29 (4): 535–541. doi:10.1016/S0020-7519(99)00006-5. ISSN   0020-7519.
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