''Amblyomma triguttatum'', commonly known as the kangaroo tick, is a species 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 ...

in the genus '' Amblyomma'' native to Australia. There are four subspecies, one or more of which might be separate species. The nominate subspecies is a vector for ''

Rickettsia ''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "rickett ...

''. Like all species in its family, Ixodidae (known as hard ticks), the kangaroo tick is a parasitic arachnid and is an obligate

hematophage Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious pro ...

, solely consuming blood for its nutritional needs. It is found in Western Australia, parts of Queensland, and in New South Wales. Thought to be a carrier of Q fever, in addition to parasitising macropods such as

western grey kangaroo The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is ...

s and

Tammar wallabies The tammar wallaby (''Notamacropus eugenii''), also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small Macropodidae, macropod native to South Australia, South and Western Australia. Though its geographical range has been severely reduced sin ...

, it has been found on a variety of other mammalian hosts, including

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

s, European rabbit, domesticated dogs and cats, and humans.

References

Amblyomma Animals described in 1844 Arthropods of Australia {{tick-stub