 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.(September 2016) |
| Nothoaspis reddelli | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ixodida |
| Family: | Argasidae |
| Genus: | Nothoaspis |
| Species: | N. reddelli |
| Binomial name | |
| Nothoaspis reddelli | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Nothoaspis reddelli, also known as Carios reddelli, is a tick that feeds on the ghost-faced bat.
The tick was discovered in 1975 by James E. Kierans and Carleton M. Clifford in a cave located in Campeche, Mexico. The tick is very similar to those of the genus Antricola , but Nothoaspis reddelli is the only tick species with a false shield on the anterior (front) half of its body, showing it to be both a new genus and a new species. [1]
The most common host of Nothoaspis reddelli is the insectivorous bat Mormoops megalophylla . A member of the Argasidae family, N. reddelli, has a multi-host life cycle (feeding on two or more hosts), feeding off each host to reach adulthood. After hatching, the instar finds its first host to feed upon and grows into a larva. The larva molts and develops into a nymph, which finds the second host. After feeding off and leaving its second host, N. reddelli molts once more. The nymph then feeds on a third host. This cycle is repeated for up to seven days, after which the nymph leaves its final host and molts to reach a sexually mature form. Mating and hatching of eggs occurs away from hosts. Mated females oviposit frequently, leaving multiple eggs (though fewer than 500 eggs per cycle). [2] [3]
Females and males differ greatly in their hypostomal dentition. Males have two pairs of setae on the pedipalps, and females have one pair. The female hood is large, spherical, and can be seen from above. Females also have an oval-shaped plate with spiracles (holes that are used to breathe), located on the underside of the abdomen near the lungs. They have a hard, smooth outer coating on the front half of their dorsal surface composed of three large pieces positioned in a triangle: one in the front and two in the back. Each of these parts has two smaller parts on each side. The back of the dorsal surface is arranged in structures similar to cells. [4]
Adult and nymphal N. reddelli have a "false shield" over the anterior half of the body. [4]
N. reddelli, like all other ticks, must consume the host's blood as food. It cannot jump or fly, so it latches onto the ghost-faced bat and makes a hole in the bat's epidermis to drink blood. N. reddelli releases a numbing agent to keep the bat from becoming aware of the ticks presence, and releases an anticoagulant to keep the blood from clotting. When the tick is finished feeding, it unlatches from the bat and disembarks, where it will prepare for its next feeding.[ citation needed ]
At first, it was believed that N. reddelli was endemic to Mexico. It was originally discovered in the guano of the ghost-faced bat in the Grutas de Xtacumbilxunam caves in Campeche, and was later observed in Yucatán and Tabasco. However, in 2015, N. reddelli was also found Nicaragua. [5]
The ghost-faced bat, and thus Nothoaspis reddelli, live in hot and humid caves. The environment within the cave is more important to the tick than the distribution of the ghost-faced bat, which is not much of a limiting factor. The cave in which the tick was first discovered is grimy, small, moist, and dark; it also contained a cenote. The Mayans once lived in the cave, but it is no longer inhabited by humans. [6] N. reddelli thrives in temperatures ranging from 32–36 °C (90–97 °F). [5]
It is currently unknown whether Nothoaspis reddelli feeds off humans or carries diseases that humans are susceptible to. [7]
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.
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.
Nuttalliella namaqua is a tick found in southern Africa from Tanzania to Namibia and South Africa, which is placed in its own family, Nuttalliellidae. It can be distinguished from ixodid ticks and argasid ticks by a combination of characteristics including the position of the stigmata, lack of setae, strongly corrugated integument, and form of the fenestrated plates. It is the most basal lineage of ticks.
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 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.
Amblyomma is a genus of hard ticks. Some are disease vectors, for example the Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Brazil or ehrlichiosis in the United States.
Amblyomma americanum, also known as the lone star tick, the northeastern water tick, or the turkey tick, is a type of tick indigenous to much of the eastern United States and Mexico, that bites painlessly and commonly goes unnoticed, remaining attached to its host for as long as seven days until it is fully engorged with blood. It is a member of the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida. The adult lone star tick is sexually dimorphic, named for a silvery-white, star-shaped spot or "lone star" present near the center of the posterior portion of the adult female shield (scutum); adult males conversely have varied white streaks or spots around the margins of their shields.
Ornithodoros is a genus in the soft-bodied tick family, Argasidae.
Ornithodoros hermsi is a species of soft tick. It can be infected with Borrelia hermsii.
Ticks of domestic animals directly cause poor health and loss of production to their hosts. Ticks also transmit numerous kinds of viruses, bacteria, and protozoa between domestic animals. These microbes cause diseases which can be severely debilitating or fatal to domestic animals, and may also affect humans. Ticks are especially important to domestic animals in tropical and subtropical countries, where the warm climate enables many species to flourish. Also, the large populations of wild animals in warm countries provide a reservoir of ticks and infective microbes that spread to domestic animals. Farmers of livestock animals use many methods to control ticks, and related treatments are used to reduce infestation of companion animals.
Ornithodoros savignyi, known as sand tampan, African eyed tampan or Kalahari sand tampan, is one of some 37 species in the genus Ornithodoros and is a soft tick with a leathery, mammillated integument, causing paralysis and tampan toxicosis, two unrelated conditions. The sand tampan is an ectoparasite on humans, their livestock and wild animals, including birds and bats. Occurring in semi-desert areas of Africa, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka and into Asia, it is able to survive for lengthy periods without feeding, spending most of its life burrowed under sand or loose soil, often in wait for animals that rest or sleep under trees or in the lee of rocks, but also in places where people or their animals congregate such as marketplaces, places of worship, cattle kraals and village squares. The timing of its activity is geared to coincide with that of potential hosts, but hot sunny conditions are usually avoided. Because of its habit of feeding and dropping from its host, adult dispersal is limited, whereas larvae may remain attached to their hosts for several days. During its life cycle it will feed on multiple hosts between moults.
Nothoapis is a genus in the soft-bodied tick family, Argasidae. It is very similar to those of the genus Antricola. The genus's origin is Nothoaspis reddelli, which is the only tick species with a false shield on the anterior half of its body, propagating both a new genus and a new species.
Antricola inexpectata is a species of soft shell ticks in the family Argasidae. Like Nothoaspis, another genus in the same family, Antricola species infest cave-dwelling bats. A. inexpectata parasites insectivorous cave-dwelling bats of the Pteronotus genus, and are only parasitic in larva form, and are non-parasitic as adults. A. inexpectata is closely related to Antricola delacruzi and Antricola guglielmonei. In both adult and larva form the primary food source appears to be bat guano, although the exact component of the guano that is consumed remains unclear. They are all indigenous to the Brazilian rain forest.
Dermacentor reticulatus, also known as the ornate cow tick, ornate dog tick, meadow tick, and marsh tick, is a species of tick from the family Ixodidae. It is the type species for the genus Dermacentor. D. reticulatus is an ornate tick. The female varies in size from 3.8–4.2 mm (unfed) to 10 mm when engorged after feeding. The unfed male is 4.2–4.8 mm long. D. reticulatus is found in Europe and Western Asia, generally in wooded areas.
The zebra tick or yellow back tick is a species of hard tick. It is common in the Horn of Africa, with a habitat of the Rift Valley and eastward. It feeds upon a wide variety of species, including livestock, wild mammals, and humans, and can be a vector for various pathogens. The adult male has a distinctive black and ivory ornamentation on its scutum.
Ornithodoros brasiliensis is a species of tick in the family Argasidae, or soft-bodied ticks, that occurs exclusively in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. O. brasiliensis is a known parasite of humans, dogs, and smaller mammals such as armadillos and skunks.
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.
Ornithodoros coriaceus, the Pajahuello or Pajahuello tick, is a tick that feeds on the blood of mammals and birds. It is widely distributed throughout western North America from southern Mexico to Oregon. Although this species rarely bites humans its bite is considered to be particularly painful. It is the primary vector of the bacterium that causes Epizootic Bovine Abortion, a severe and commercially-important disease afflicting domestic cattle.
Ornithodoros gurneyi, a kangaroo soft tick, is a species of the argasid family. A parasite found in arid regions of Australia, the species occurs on red kangaroos, lizards and people.