''Dermacentor'' is a genus of

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

s in the family

Ixodidae The Ixodidae are the family of hard ticks or scale ticks, one of the three families of ticks, consisting of over 700 species. They are known as 'hard ticks' because they have a scutum or hard shield, which the other major family of ticks, the 'sof ...

, the hard ticks. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, with native species on all continents except

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Most occur in the

Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

. Hosts of ''Dermacentor'' ticks include many large and small mammals, including

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

lagomorphs The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae ( hares and rabbits) and the Ochotonidae (pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Ancient Greek ''lagos'' (λα� ...

peccaries A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North A ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...

desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The Bu ...

, and humans. The American dog tick (''D. variabilis'') is a member of the genus. ''Dermacentor'' species are vectors of many

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

s, including ''

Rickettsia rickettsii ''Rickettsia rickettsii'' (abbreviated as ''R. rickettsii'') is a gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium that is around 0.8 to 2.0 μm long. ''R. rickettsii'' is the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. ''R. rickettsii ...

'', which causes the disease

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

, ''

Coxiella burnetii ''Coxiella burnetii'' is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, and is the causative agent of Q fever. The genus ''Coxiella'' is morphologically similar to ''Rickettsia'', but with a variety of genetic and physiological differences. ''C. ...

'', which causes

Q fever Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with ''Coxiella burnetii'', a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including ...

, ''

Anaplasma ''Anaplasma'' is a genus of bacteria of the alphaproteobacterial order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae. ''Anaplasma'' species reside in host blood cells and lead to the disease anaplasmosis. The disease most commonly occurs in areas where ...

marginale'', which causes

anaplasmosis Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease affecting ruminants, dogs, and horses, and is caused by ''Anaplasma'' bacteria. Anaplasmosis is an infectious but not contagious disease. Anaplasmosis can be transmitted through mechanical and biological vector ...

in cattle, ''

Francisella tularensis ''Francisella tularensis'' is a pathogenic species of Gram-negative coccobacillus, an aerobic bacterium. It is nonspore-forming, nonmotile, and the causative agent of tularemia, the pneumonic form of which is often lethal without treatment. It is ...

'', which causes

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat infe ...

, '' Babesia caballi'', which causes

equine piroplasmosis Babesiosis or piroplasmosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with a eukaryotic parasite in the order Piroplasmida, typically a ''Babesia'' or ''Theileria'', in the phylum Apicomplexa. Human babesiosis transmission via ti ...

, and the ''

Flavivirus ''Flavivirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus and several other viruses which may caus ...

'' that causes

Powassan encephalitis Powassan encephalitis, caused by the Powassan virus (POWV), a flavivirus also known as the deer tick virus, is a form of arbovirus infection that results from tick bites. It can occur as a co-infection with Lyme disease since both are transmitte ...

. ''Dermacentor'' ticks inject a

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature ner ...

that causes

tick paralysis Tick paralysis is the only tick-borne disease that is not caused by an infectious organism. The illness is caused by a neurotoxin produced in the tick's salivary gland. After prolonged attachment, the engorged tick transmits the toxin to its host. ...

Species

As of 2019, about 41 species are placed in the genus: *'' Dermacentor abaensis'' Teng, 1963 *''

Dermacentor albipictus ''Dermacentor albipictus'', the winter tick, is a species of hard tick that parasitizes many different mammal species in North America. It is commonly associated with cervid species such as elk (''Cervus canadensis''), white-tailed deer (''Odoc ...

'' Packard, 1869 – winter tick *''

Dermacentor andersoni ''Dermacentor andersoni'', commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a hard tick, or member of the Ixodidae family, with three life stages including larvae, nymph, and finally adult, or, more entomologically, imago. This tick is genera ...

'' Stiles, 1908 – Rocky Mountain wood tick *'' Dermacentor asper'' Arthur, 1960 *'' Dermacentor atrosignatus'' Neumann, 1906 *'' Dermacentor auratus'' Supino, 1897 *'' Dermacentor bellulus'' Schulze, 1933 *'' Dermacentor circumguttatus'' Neumann, 1897 *'' Dermacentor compactus'' Neumann, 1901 *'' Dermacentor confragus'' Schulze, 1933 *'' Dermacentor dispar'' Cooley, 1937 *'' Dermacentor dissimilis'' Cooley, 1947 *'' Dermacentor everestianus'' Hirst, 1926 *'' Dermacentor filippovae'' Apanaskevich & Apanaskevich, 2015 *'' Dermacentor halli'' McIntosh, 1931 *'' Dermacentor hunteri'' Bishopp, 1912 *'' Dermacentor imitans'' Warburton 1933 *'' Dermacentor kamshadalus'' Neumann, 1908Dmitry A Apanaskevich, Stephen C Barker, ''Dermacentor kamshadalus'' (Acari: Ixodidae), a Tick of Mountain Goats and Sheep in Western United States, Canada, and Russia, Is a Valid Species, ''Journal of Medical Entomology'', tjaa190, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa190. *'' Dermacentor laothaiensis'' Apanaskevich et al., 2019 *'' Dermacentor latus'' Cooley, 1937 *'' Dermacentor limbooliati'' Apanaskevich & Apanaskevich, 2015 *'' Dermacentor marginatus'' Sulzer, 1776 *'' Dermacentor montanus'' Filippova & Panova, 1974 *''

Dermacentor nitens ''Dermacentor'' is a genus of ticks in the family Ixodidae, the hard ticks. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with native species on all continents except Australia. Most occur in the Nearctic realm. Hosts of ''Dermacentor'' ticks incl ...

'' Neumann, 1897 *'' Dermacentor niveus'' Neumann 1897 *'' Dermacentor nuttalli'' Olenev, 1928 *''

Dermacentor occidentalis ''Dermacentor'' is a genus of ticks in the family Ixodidae, the hard ticks. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with native species on all continents except Australia. Most occur in the Nearctic realm. Hosts of ''Dermacentor'' ticks i ...

'' Marx, 1892 - Pacific Coast tick *'' Dermacentor panamensis'' Apanaskevich & Bermúdez, 2013 *'' Dermacentor parumapertus'' Neumann, 1901 *'' Dermacentor pasteuri'' Apanaskevich et al., 2020Dmitry Apanaskevich, Khamsing Vongphayloth, Pattraporn Jeangkhwoa, Aummarin Chaloemthanetphong, Arunee Ahantarig, Maria Apanaskevich, Paul T. Brey, Khaithong Lakeomany, Wachareeporn Trinachartvanit. 2020. Description of a new species of ''Dermacentor'' Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) from the mountains of Laos and Thailand. ''Systematic Parasitology'', https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-020-09916-6. Last accessed 11 Jun 2020. *'' Dermacentor pavlovskyi'' Olenev 1927 *'' Dermacentor pomerantzevi'' Serdyukova, 1951 *'' Dermacentor pseudocompactus'' Apanaskevich & Apanaskevich, 2016Dmitry A. Apanaskevich and Maria A. Apanaskevich. 2016. Description of Two New Species of ''Dermacentor'' Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) From Oriental Asia. ''Systematic Parasitology'' 2016 Feb;93(2):159-71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-015-9614-8. Epub 2016 Jan 20. *'' Dermacentor raskemensis'' Pomerantsev, 1946 *''

Dermacentor reticulatus ''Dermacentor reticulatus'', also known as the ornate cow tick, ornate dog tick, meadow tick, and marsh tick, is a species of tick from the family Ixodidae. It is the type species for the genus ''Dermacentor''. ''D. reticulatus'' is an ornate ti ...

'' Fabricius, 1794 – ornate cow tick, ornate dog tick, meadow tick, marsh tick *'' Dermacentor rhinocerinus'' Denny, 1843 *'' Dermacentor silvarum'' Olenev 1931 *'' Dermacentor sinicus'' Schulze, 1932 *'' Dermacentor steini'' Schulze, 1933 *'' Dermacentor taiwanensis'' Sugimoto, 1935 *'' Dermacentor tamokensis'' Apanaskevich & Apanaskevich, 2016 *'' Dermacentor ushakovae'' Filippova & Panova 1987 *''

Dermacentor variabilis ''Dermacentor variabilis'', also known as the American dog tick or wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia (''Francisella tul ...

'' Say, 1821 – wood tick, American dog tick

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2714520 Ticks Acari genera Parasitic arthropods of mammals Ixodidae