Shield ticks

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Shield ticks
Female Ixodes hexagonus (4 mm)

Female Ixodes hexagonus (4 mm)

Systematics
Sub-stem : Jawbearers (Chelicerata)
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Subclass : Mites (acari)
Superordinate : Parasitiformes
Order : Ticks (ixodida)
Family : Shield ticks
Scientific name
Ixodidae
Murray , 1877

The ticks (Ixodidae) belong to the mites . They are characterized by a leather-like, stretchable skin and are temporary ectoparasites .

Compared to the leather ticks , they differ in a number of easily distinguishable features. They have a hard outer skin and a particularly reinforced skin area, the shield ( scutum ), on the chest piece . In males it can cover the entire tick, in females it is often only small and inconspicuous. The name of the family is also derived from this characteristic.

distribution

Shield ticks occur worldwide and are also the most widespread tick family in Central Europe . They are more likely to be outdoors, especially in meadows with tall grass. Therefore, they seek out bright, moist places to attach themselves to the host through direct contact.

Way of life

The best-known European representative is the common wood tick ( Ixodes ricinus ). When choosing a host, ticks are not restricted to a specific host , but can attack all vertebrates ( reptiles , birds , mammals ). This is because ticks feed primarily on proteins such as hemoglobin , albumin , globulin and lipids such as cholesterol , which are similar in all vertebrates . Some species only need one host, while others go through up to three host changes in their development. In some species of Ixodes , adult males no longer need a meal of blood.

Shield ticks as a disease carrier

As bloodsuckers, ticks can also transmit various diseases, see in more detail under ticks and tick bites .

Shield ticks of the genus Hyalomma are primarily parasites of ungulates . Among other things, they transmit the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) caused by a virus , which can cause major epidemics among humans and ungulates.

The wooden rams mainly transmit borreliosis , more rarely babesiosis and TBE . Frequent in the warmer parts of Europe, but in Germany only in warmer regions such as the Upper Rhine Graben occurring sheep tick ( Dermacentor marginatus ) transfers Q fever , tularemia , Hundebabesiose , the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Rinderanaplasmose . The sheep tick stands out because of its colorful, iridescent, enamel-like color.

The "Lone Star Tick" ( Amblyomma americanum ) occurs mainly in humid forests in the south of the USA ( Texas and states a little further north) and mainly transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, dog babesiosis and Lyme borreliosis (Southern Tick- Associated Rash Illness).

Genera and species

The ticks are divided into 14 genera with over 700 species:

literature

  • Hans-Peter Wirtz: Ticks as a disease carrier. What to do with a stitch In: Biology in Our Time. Volume 31, No. 4, 2001, ISSN  0045-205X , pp. 229-238.
  • GV Kolonin: Fauna of Ixodid ticks of the world (Acari, Ixodidae). Moscow 2009. The publication contains numerous maps of the distribution of the various types of tick.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alberto A. Guglielmone et al. a .: The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida) of the world: a list of valid species names. In: Zootaxa. No. 2528, 2010, ISSN  1175-5326 , pp. 1-28.

Web links

Commons : Ixodidae  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files