Of the 758 species of hard ticks (family Ixodidae) currently known to science, 137 (18%) are found in the Neotropical Zoogeographic Region, an area that extends from the eastern and western flanks of the Mexican Plateau southward to southern Argentina and Chile and that also includes the Greater and Lesser Antilles and the Galápagos Islands. This vast and biotically rich region has long attracted natural scientists, with the result that the literature on Neotropical ticks, which are second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human disease and are of paramount veterinary importance, is enormous, diffuse, and often inaccessible to non-specialists. In this book, three leading authorities on the Ixodidae have combined their talents to produce a summary of essential information for every Neotropical tick species. Under each species name, readers will find an account of the original taxonomic description and subsequent redescriptions, followed by an overview of its geographic distribution and host relationships, including a discussion of human parasitism. Additional sections provide detailed analyses of tick distribution by country and zoogeographic subregion (the Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America, South America, and the Galápagos Islands), together with a review of the phenomenon of invasive tick species and examination of the many valid and invalid names that have appeared in the Neotropical tick literature. The text concludes with an unprecedented tabulation of all known hosts of Neotropical Ixodidae, including the tick life history stages collected from each host. This book is an invaluable reference for biologists and biomedical personnel seeking to familiarize themselves with the Neotropical tick fauna.

Ticks of the family Ixodidae, commonly known as hard ticks, occur worldwide and are second only to mosquitoes as vectors of agents pathogenic to humans. Of the 729 currently recognized hard tick species, 283 (39%) have been implicated as human parasites, but the literature on these species is both immense and scattered, with the result that health professionals are often unable to determine whether a particular tick specimen, once identified, represents a species that is an actual or potential threat to its human host. In this book, two leading tick specialists provide a list of the species of Ixodidae that have been reported to feed on humans, with emphasis on their geographical distribution, principal hosts, and the tick life history stages associated with human parasitism. Also included is a discussion of 21 ixodid species that, while having been found on humans, are either not known to have actually fed or may have been misidentified. Additionally, 107 tick names that have appeared in papers on tick parasitism of humans, and that might easily confuse non-taxonomists, are shown to be invalid under the rules of zoological nomenclature. Although the species of ticks that attack humans have long attracted the attention of researchers, few comprehensive studies of these species have been attempted. By gleaning and analyzing the results of over 1,100 scientific papers published worldwide, the authors have provided an invaluable survey of hard tick parasitism that is unprecedented in its scope and detail.

This book has been designed to summarize current, essential information for every one of the world’s 700+ hard tick species. Under each species name, we will cite the original description, followed by information on type depositories, known stages, distribution (by zoogeographic region and ecoregion), hosts, and human infestation (if any). Each species account will also include a list of salient references and, where necessary, remarks on systematic status. We envision eight chapters: six devoted to the major ixodid tick genera (Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes, Rhipicephalus), one covering eight minor genera (including two that are fossil), and a concluding summary chapter. There will be two tables on host associations and zoogeography in each major genus chapter, as well as five tables in the summary chapter, for a total of 17 tables. No similar synopsis of the world’s hard tick species exists in any language.​

Ticks of the Southern Cone of America: Diagnosis, Distribution and Hosts with Taxonomy, Ecology and Sanitary Importance focuses on the tick species prevalent in The Southern Cone of America, including their distribution, biology, associated pathogens, their effects on the host, and control methods. Based on review of the literature from more than five decades, 62 species of both hard and soft tick have been discovered on the Southern Cone of America. Tick genera observed and recorded include Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Ixodes, and Rhipicephalus. - Presents a comprehensive discussion that can be used to study identification and biology of tick species on hosts endemic to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) - Provides pictorial keys that can be used to further identify species - Facilitates prevention and control of tick-borne diseases in tropical region - Helps in the diagnoses of tick borne diseases

Physiology of Ticks focuses on the unique (and probably the most vulnerable) features of tick physiology and the physiological aspects of tick interactions with their hosts. The mechanisms used by non-feeding ticks to maintain their water balance are examined, along with the salivary mechanisms used by feeding ixodid ticks for excreting the enormous excess volumes of water and salts taken in during blood sucking. This book is comprised of 13 chapters and begins with a description of the morphology, deposition, and components of the tick cuticle. The discussion then turns to humidity relationships and water balance of ticks, as well as the sensory basis of tick feeding behavior and the immunological basis of host resistance to ticks. Subsequent chapters explore blood digestion in ticks; tick reproduction, with emphasis on sperm development, cytogenetics, oogenesis, and oviposition; effects of insect hormones and their mimics on tick development and reproduction; and the mechanisms of tick pheromones. The final chapter deals with diapause and biological rhythms in ticks. This monograph will be of value to entomologists, physiologists, biologists, and practitioners of tropical science.

"This publication forms a part of the centenary year celebration of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi."

It is vital to understand ticks and tick-borne pathogens as well as their impact on humans. This book is intended for students in parasitology, biologists, parasitologists involved in molecular diagnostics of tick-borne diseases, practicing veterinarians, and for others who may require information on ticks and tick-borne diseases. Here we have put together a collection of chapters focused on different aspects of ticks and tick-borne diseases mainly to provide the reader with novel information in the field, but not the basic generalised information provided by many textbooks. This book includes topics such as high-throughput technologies in diagnosis, discovery of novel tick vaccines, identification of new pathogens transmitted by ticks, and new epidemiological information of certain well-known ticks and tick-borne diseases. These chapters were authored by parasitologists from all over the world, giving an insight to the reader about significant ticks and tick-borne diseases prevalent in those particular geographical regions with the local expert's point of view. Each of the chapters has separate reference lists, making it easier for the reader to find additional reading material related to their topic of interest.

This contributed volume focuses on the Neotropical region, and explores the environmental, ecological and socio-economic components that facilitate the emergence of zoonotic diseases. This book highlights the primary ecological, environmental, social, and economic variables associated with the risk of maintenance, transmission, and dissemination of emerging, re-emerging, and neglected infectious diseases, in which Neotropical vertebrates are involved. It compiles up-to-date knowledge and research for the neotropical region, as well as discusses the current needs of knowledge improvement. The chapters include various examples of the cycles of infectious diseases, all with world-wide relevance where neotropical wild vertebrates are affected or involved.

Ticks in the genus Rhipicephalus include many important vectors of animal and human pathogens, but many species are notoriously difficult to identify, particularly as immature stages. This reference volume provides identification keys for adult ticks from the Afrotropical regions and elsewhere. For the nymphs and larvae, unique plates have been compiled in which line drawings of the capitula of similar species are grouped together to facilitate identification. Brief well-illustrated descriptions of the known stages of every species are given, plus information on their hosts, distribution, and disease relationships. Tables providing data on host/parasite relationships and disease transmission are also included, making this the definitive reference source on this group for all those interested in acarology, veterinary or medical parasitology and entomology for many years to come.