Number of species in genus
36 species (Barker & Murrell 2004)
Species list
D. abaensis Teng, 1963
D. albipictus (Packard, 1869)
D. andersoni Stiles, 1908
D. asper Arthur, 1960
D. atrosignatus Neumann, 1906
D. auratus Supino, 1897
D. circumguttatus Neumann, 1897
D. compactus Neumann, 1901
D. confractus (Schulze, 1933)
D. daghestanicus Olenev, 1928
D. dispar Cooley, 1937
D. dissimilis Cooley, 1947
D. everestianus Hirst, 1926
D. halli McIntosh, 1931
D. hunteri Bishopp, 1912
D. imitans Warburton, 1933
D. latus Cooley, 1937
D. marginatus (Sulzer, 1776)
D. montanus Filippova & Panova, 1974
D. nigrolineatus (Packard, 1869)
D. (Anocentor) nitens Neumann, 1897
D. niveus Neumann, 1897
D. nuttalli Olenev, 1928
D. occidentalis Marx, 1892
D. parumapertus Neumann, 1901
D. pavlovskyi Olenev, 1927
D. pomerantzevi Serdyukova, 1951
D. raskemensis Pomerantsev, 1946
D. reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794)
D. rhinocerinus (Denny, 1843)
D. silvarum Olenev, 1931
D. sinicus Schulze, 1932
D. steini Schulze, 1933
D. taiwanensis Sugimoto, 1935
D. ushakovae Filippova & Panova, 1987
D. variabilis (Say, 1821)
Identifying features of genus
Adults
- Anal groove: Present and embracing the anus posteriorly
- Eyes: Present
- Festoons: Present and numbering 11 (exception is D. nitens which has 7)
- Basis capituli: Rectangular dorsally
- Ornamentation: Adults ornate (a few exceptions)
- Palpi: Short and broad
- Hypostome: Relatively short and broad, dentition 3/3 in adults 2/2 in nymphs
- Ventral plates (males only): Absent
- Coxae 1: Bifid (in males coxa 4 is much larger than coxa 1-3)
Nymphs
- Anal groove: Present and embracing the anus posteriorly
- Eyes: Present and flat
- Festoons: Present
- Basis capituli: Rectangular-sub rectangular or triangular-sub triangular
- Palpi: Short and broard or long in appearance (article 2 of palps usually not three times as long as article 2
Larvae
- Anal groove: Absent
- Palpi: Moderately elongate (>2.5x width)
- Lateral large wax glands: Present and located between setae s5 (Md2) and s 6 (Md3)
- Festoons: Present and numbering 9
- Eyes: Present
- Post hypostomal setae: 1 pair
Species occuring in New Zealand
As of June 2008 no species from this genus have recorded as being resident in
Species that are considered to be a risk
D. albipictus (this species has previously been intercepted at
D. silvarum (this species has previously been intercepted at
Species previously intercepted at border
Region of origin/species
North America/USA: D. albipictus, D. variablis
Asia/South
General comments
Dermacentor specimens intercepted at New Zealand's borders have tended to originate from North America and Asia/South East Asia. Given the distribution of Dermacentor species it is likely that these two regions will continue to be the main origin of specimens from this genus that are intercepted at the border
- Geographic range mostly Central and North America, and Eurasia, few species in South America and Africa
- Hosts of adults are medium to large sized mammals
- Important vectors of numerous pathogens such as Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and Colorado tick Fever
Useful references
Arthur DR 1960. Ticks a monograph of the Ixodoidae. Part 5 On the genera Dermacentor, Anocentor, Cosmiomma, Boophilus and Margaropus. Cambridge University Press, London.
Arthur DR 1963. British ticks. Butterworths, London. 213 pp.
Barker SC & Murrell A 2004. Systematics and evolution of ticks with a list of valid genus and species names. Parasitology, 129: S15-S36.
Camicas, JL, hervy JP, Adam, F & Morel PC 1998. Les Tiques de Monde. Nomenclature, stades decrits, hotes, repartition. The ticks of the world. Nomenclature, described stages, hosts, distribution (Acarida, Ixodida).
Hillyard PD 1996. Ticks of north-west Europe. Synopsses of the British fauna (new series). No 52. Published for the linnean Society of London and the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association by Field Studies Council Publications, Montford Bridge, UK 178 pp.
Horack IG, Camicas, J-L & Kierans, JE 2002. The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida): a world list of valid tick names. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 28: 27-54.