A mammal tick with a taste for lizard blood: Parasitism by the kangaroo soft tick, (Ornithodoros gurneyi) on sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa).

The kangaroo soft tick (Ornithodoros gurneyi) inhabits xeric habitats of Australia and, as a result, little is known about the natural hosts of the different life stages of this tick. Large macropods are inferred as the kangaroo soft tick's principal hosts since all life stages inhabit the loose soil of kangaroo wallows. These ticks have been reported to parasitize bearded dragons (Pogona barbata) and sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), however it is not known whether these lizards are competent hosts of this tick.

An instance of parasitism on a human by a nymph of the kangaroo soft tick, Ornithodoros gurneyi Warburton, 1926 (Acari: Argasidae) in South Australia.

The kangaroo soft tick, Ornithodoros gurneyi Warburton, 1926, is a poorly studied argasid of the more arid regions of Australia. Anecdotal accounts have stated that this tick species will bite humans, and yet bites have not been described. Herein we report on an instance of parasitism by a nymph of O.

What attracts larval Ixodes hirsti (Acari: Ixodidae) to their host?

Ticks are extremely susceptible to desiccation when not on a host. Even though Ixodid ticks are capable of surviving extreme conditions, it is in the best interest of the tick to locate a host quickly. The aim of this study was to determine the host stimuli used by larval Ixodes hirsti for location of their passerine host.

Aponomma (Bothriocroton) glebopalma, n. subgen., n. sp., and Amblyomma glauerti n. sp. (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae), parasites of monitor lizards (Varanidae) in Australia.

Aponomma (Bothriocroton) glebopalma, n. subgen., n.

No competition for resources between two tick species at their parapatric boundary.

Aponomma hydrosauri and Amblyomma limbatum are tick species with the same major host species, the sleepy lizard Trachydosaurus rugosus, but parapatric distributions in South Australia. Near Mt. Mary one species is abruptly replaced by the other over one kilometre.