Argasidae
Encyclopedia
Argasidae is a family
of tick
s containing the soft ticks. They lack the hard scutum that is present in the hard ticks (Ixodidae
). The capitulum (mouthparts-bearing structure) is located on the underside of the animal's body and is not readily visible. The family contains 193 species
, although the composition of the genera
is less certain, and more study is needed before the genera can become stable. The currently accepted genera are Antricola
, Argas
, Nothaspis, Ornithodoros
and Otobius.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
s containing the soft ticks. They lack the hard scutum that is present in the hard ticks (Ixodidae
Ixodidae
Ixodidae is a family of ticks containing the hard ticks.-Description:They are distinguished from the other main family of ticks, the soft ticks by the presence of a scutum or hard shield...
). The capitulum (mouthparts-bearing structure) is located on the underside of the animal's body and is not readily visible. The family contains 193 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, although the composition of the genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
is less certain, and more study is needed before the genera can become stable. The currently accepted genera are Antricola
Antricola
Antricola is a genus of tick. It contains 16 species-Species:*Antricola delacruzi Estrada-Pena, Barros-Battesti & Venzal, 2004*Antricola guglielmonei Estrada-Pena, Barros-Battesti & Venzal, 2004*Antricola inexpectata...
, Argas
Argas
Argas is a genus of tick.-Species:* Argas abdussalami Hoogstraal & McCarthy, 1965* Argas acinus Whittick, 1938* Argas africolumbae Hoogstraal, Kaiser, Walker, Ledger, Converse & Rice, 1975...
, Nothaspis, Ornithodoros
Ornithodoros
Ornithodoros is a genus in the soft-bodied tick family, Argasidae. The Linnean name derives from ornithos and doros , meaning "bird" and "gift," respectively...
and Otobius.