Dorsal view of a typical female Dermacentor with identifying features of the genus arrowed (Copyright, Gary Alpert, Harvard University) (click on thumbnail for larger image).

Dorsal view of a typical male Dermacentor with identifying features of the genus arrowed (Copyright, US National Tick collection and Frank L. Ruedisueli & Brigitte Manship) (click on thumbnail for larger image).

Ventral view of a typical male Dermacentor with identifying features of the genus arrowed (Copyright, US National Tick collection and Frank L. Ruedisueli & Brigitte Manship) (click on thumbnail for larger image).

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 New Zealand

Species that are considered to be a risk

D. albipictus (this species has previously been intercepted atNew Zealands border)

D. silvarum (this species has previously been intercepted at New Zealands border)

top

Species previously intercepted at border

Region of origin/species

North America/USA: D. albipictus, D. variablis

Asia/South East Asia: D. silvarum

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). France , Orstom Editions.

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.