''Hyalomma dromedarii'' is a species of hard-bodied

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 belonging to 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 ...

Description

The dorsal shield ( conscutum) of males can reach a length of . These hard-bodied ticks are broadly oval in shape. The basic color is yellow- to red-brown. This species is closely associated with camels, that are the main hosts of the adults, which may also parasitize other domestic animals. Nymphs and larvae are associated with the same hosts, but can also parasitize rodents, hedgehogs and birds. This species is ascribed with spreading the virus that causes the life-threatening Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. The bites cause the surrounding tissue to die and become necrotic. The dead tissue falls out of the body after a few days. The wounds look very serious, but usually heal without any intervention and do not generally become infected any further.

Distribution

''Hyalomma dromedarii ''is widespread in North Africa, the northern regions of West, Central, and East Africa, Arabia, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia.

Hosts

''H. dromedarii'' is known from equids,

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s and

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 ...

As a vector

African Horse Sickness

''H. dromedarii'' can carry the

African Horse Sickness Virus African horse sickness (AHS) is a highly infectious and deadly disease caused by ''African horse sickness virus''. It commonly affects horses, mules, and donkeys. It is caused by a virus of the genus ''Orbivirus'' belonging to the family ''Reovi ...

. Awad et al. 1981 and Salma et al. 1987 isolated the virus from individuals in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and find indications that they may

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

it between horses. Awad further found it is transmitted transstadially, larva → nymph and nymph → adult, but not vertically.

''Theileria''

Samish and Pipono 1978 and Ica et al 2007 find the tick vectoring ''

Theileria annulata Tropical theileriosis or Mediterranean theileriosis is a theileriosis of cattle from the Mediterranean and Middle East area, from Morocco to Western parts of India and China. It is a tick-borne disease, caused by ''Theileria annulata''. The vecto ...

'' between cattle. Hoogstraal et al 1981 find the same for '' T. camelensis'' and camels.

Semiochemistry

Females secrete 2,6-Dichlorophenol/2,6-DCP as an

attractant An attractant is any chemical that attracts an organism, e.g. i) synthetic lures; ii) aggregation and sex pheromones (intraspecific interactions); and iii) synomone (interspecific interactions) Synomone An interspecific semiochemical that is b ...

to males. (Several others of this genus are known to do the same.) Successful attraction is concentration dependent: For example, ''H. dromedarii'' males and '' H. anatolicum excavatum'' males are not attracted by the same concentrations. ''H. a. excavatum'' males are actually repelled by ''H. dromedarii'' concentrations.

References

* Ticks Ixodidae Arachnids of Africa Arachnids of Asia Parasitic arthropods of mammals Animals described in 1844 Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch {{parasitic animal-stub