Identification of 6 External Tick Species in Cats and D
Tick species are divided into two families: the Hard Tick family and the Soft Tick family. The Hard Tick family holds the most significant veterinary importance.
Multiple hard ticks are capable of carrying viruses, bacteria, animal protozoa, and pathogens that affect humans. Moreover, they can also lead to tick paralysis and tick中毒.
1. The American Dog Tick
(1) Hosts: A wide range of domestic and wild animals.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas, often found on the heads and necks of domestic animals.
(3) Life Cycle: The American Dog Tick is a threehost tick, meaning each stage of its life cycle requires finding a new host after shedding its exoskeleton in the environment. Both nymphs and larvae have a broad host range, while adults typically parasitize ruminants and other domestic animals, including humans.
The female and male American Dog Ticks. This common tick in the United States is easily identified by the large white spots on the female's scutum. Although the male does not show a distinct 'star' pattern upon close inspection, it can be seen that the scutum has some colored stripes and a marginate border.
The nymphs of the American Dog Tick. Similar to adults, nymphs have eight legs but are smaller and lack reproductive openings. Unlike the female, the nymphs of the American Dog Tick do not display a significant 'star' pattern.
The Gulf Tick: Distributed in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America, this tick primarily parasitizes the heads and necks of birds and mammals. Note the typical long mouthparts of this genus.
The American Dog Tick is common in tropical and subtropical regions. Like their African counterparts, they often have a colorful striped pattern forming a 'star' pattern. Some species, such as the American Dog Tick, also have a pair of simple eyes along the margin of the scutum.
2. The Gulf Tick
(1) Hosts: A diverse range of hosts, including domestic animals. The Gulf Tick is a onehost tick, parasitizing turtles.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas.
(3) Life Cycle: The Gulf Tick is typically a twohost tick, with engorged nymphs and adults leaving the host. They are significant disease vectors in Africa, Asia, and Australia but are not distributed in the Western Hemisphere. They have long mouthparts, similar to the American Dog Tick, and possess eyes and a marginate border, but lack the 'star' pattern.
3. The Deer Tick
(1) Hosts: A wide range of hosts, including domestic animals and humans.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas.
(3) Life Cycle: The Deer Tick is a threehost tick, with a distinctive feature being the anal groove that starts at the rear edge of the body and surrounds the anus. This feature can be observed with a magnifying glass or dissecting scope. The Deer Tick is the primary vector of Lyme disease in the United States.
The shield of the Blacklegged Tick lacks the 'star' pattern. The most obvious morphological feature of the Deer Tick is the anal groove surrounding the anus. Unlike ticks from other genera, the Deer Tick has this groove, and its species also have long mouthparts.
4. The Brown Dog Tick
(1) Hosts: This genus of ticks is the most important parasite of domestic animals and dogs.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas.
(3) Life Cycle: The Brown Dog Tick is a threehost tick, with the Blacklegged Tick being a threehost tick, each stage of its life cycle using dogs as hosts. The Lone Star Tick is also a threehost tick, while the American Dog Tick is a twohost tick, and the Western Blacklegged Tick, the Ringed Tick, and the Colorless Tick are onehost ticks. Eggs hatch into larvae in the external environment, attach to hosts, and go through the nymph and adult stages. The females leave the host after engorging and lay eggs in the external environment.
The engorged female Blacklegged Tick, also known as the Brown Dog Tick. This species is most common in the southeastern United States but can also be found in other regions due to the fact that all stages of the Blacklegged Tick use dogs as hosts.
The Brown Dog Tick has a hexagonal, outwardly projecting prostomium, which is characteristic of the genus. This is a onehost tick that parasitizes cattle and is the vector of bovine babesiosis.
5. The Blood Tick
(1) Hosts: Varies by species, parasitizing many mammals and birds.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas.
(3) Life Cycle: The Blood Tick is a threehost tick, with each stage leaving the host after engorging. Nymphs and larvae primarily parasitize small mammals and birds, while adults parasitize large mammals. The wild rabbit blood tick in South America can carry the bacterium responsible for tularemia, Francisella tularensis.
Other members of the Blood Tick genus in Africa, Asia, and Australia are vectors of babesiosis and Theileriosis. The blood tick has broad palpae, and some species have the second palp segment extending beyond the lateral margin.
6. The Soft Tick
(1) Hosts: Domestic poultry and wild birds.
(2) Parasitic Sites: Multiple areas.
(3) Life Cycle: The Soft Tick is a soft tick that lives in the external environment, infecting birds only during feeding and often at night. Nymphs and adults require multiple blood meals. Certain species of Soft Ticks have a granular surface, while others have a pustular surface with small elevations, and the body lacks distinct edges.
