Fox tick
| Fox tick | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ixodes canisuga | ||||||||||||
| Johnston , 1849 |
The Fuchs tick ( Ixodes canisuga ) is a tick species from the genus Ixodes within the family of the ticks (Ixodidae).
features
The shield (skutum), gnathosoma and legs of the species are maroon, the rest of the body is yellowish. The females reach about 2.8 to 3.2 millimeters, the heart-shaped shield of the females about 1.1 millimeters in length. Males are smaller and a maximum of about 2 millimeters long. The buttons ( pedipalps ) are massive in both sexes and rounded at the front. The tip of the hypostome is rounded, not flattened or weakly edged.
The tick resembles the wood tick ( Ixodes ricinus ) in its appearance . It can be distinguished from this, and all other species of the subgenus Ixodes , in that there is no external spine on the hips ( coxes ) of the leg links. In addition, as with the closely related hedgehog tick, the last leg link ( tarsus ) of the first pair of legs is abruptly narrowed towards the tip, with a clearly separated, small hump in front of it. The very similar hedgehog tick ( Ixodes hexagonus ), with which the species can often be found on the same host, can be roughly distinguished by the different shape of the shield (this one: hexagonal). However, only the coxes of the first pair of legs allow a reliable differentiation; in Ixodes canisuga these do not have a thorn on the inside.
Biology and way of life
The most important host of the species is the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ). In addition, it occurs on other Carnivora such as European polecat ( Mustela putorius ), stone marten ( Martes foina ) and badger ( Meles meles ), other predators are more rarely mentioned, in England for example American mink ( Mustela vison ). It also frequently and regularly affects domestic dogs and, much less often, domestic cats. In an investigation in Thuringia, about three quarters of the 1286 foxes examined were infested with ticks, of which Ixodes canisuga was the second most common species after Ixodes ricinus in sexually mature ticks . In contrast, Ixodes canisuga was the most common among nymphs . Animals could be found on the host almost all year round, the infection rate was slightly higher in winter than in summer. Males were rarely found on the host, this is an indication that mating does not occur on the host.
The fox tick only reproduces in species that create or inhabit burrows in the ground, it seems to be bound to these structures in its way of life, i.e. a nest-dwelling or nidicolous tick species. Otherwise little is known about their biology and way of life. The species is known to host the pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi , the causative agent of Lyme disease , and the Babesia Babesia missiroli .
distribution
The species is distributed over large parts of western Europe, records are available from Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Great Britain and Ireland. It can be expected everywhere in Germany.
Taxonomy and systematics
The fox tick belongs to the subgenus Pholeoixodes of the genus Ixodes , a taxonomically difficult group. Many of the species described, especially that of the German researcher Paul Schulze, have been synonymous in recent years , so it is uncertain which species they refer to in the case of many older species. Ixodes autumnalis , Ixodes barbarossae , Ixodes latirostris , Ixodes melicola , Ixodes sciuricola , Ixodes vulpicola , Ixodes vulpinus pro parte, Ixodes vulpis are given as synonyms . Some authors consider Ixodes canisuga itself to be a synonym for Ixodes crenulatus , but this view has not caught on.
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- Trevor N. Petney, Miriam P. Pfäffle, Jasmin D. Skuballa (2012): An annotated checklist of the ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of Germany. Systematic & Applied Acarology 17 (2): 115-170.
- Elisabeth Meyer-Kayser, Lothar Hoffmann, Cornelia Silaghi, Kurt Pfister, Monia Mahling, Lygia MF Passos (2012): Dynamics of tick infestations in foxes in Thuringia, Germany. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 3: 232-239. doi : 10.1016 / j.ttbdis.2012.05.004
- Peter Deplazes, Johannes Eckert, Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Horst Zahner: Textbook of parasitology for veterinary medicine. 3rd, revised edition. Enke, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-8304-1135-2 , p. 388.
- Horak, Ivan Gerard; Guglielmone, Alberto A .; Robbins, Richard G .; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A .; Petney, Trevor N .; Estrada-Pena, Agustin; Shao, Renfu; Barker, Stephen C. (2010): The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida) of the world: a list of valid species names. Zootaxa 2528: 1-28.
- J. Nosek & W. Sixl (1972): Central-European Ticks (Ixodoidea), Key for determination. Messages from the zoology department of the Landesmuseum Joanneum 1 (2): 61–92.
- Central European Ixodes species, by Michael Becker, 10/1998
- Ixodes canisuga. Bristol University tick ID. 2002-2012