Amblyomma maculatum

Updated on Oct 25, 2023

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Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Family Ixodidae Scientific name Amblyomma maculatum		Phylum Arthropoda Order Ixodida Genus Amblyomma Rank Species

Similar Amblyomma, Lone star tick, American dog tick, Dermacentor, Dermacentor andersoni

Amblyomma maculatum is a species of tick in the genus Amblyomma. Immatures usually infest small mammals and birds that dwell on the ground; cotton rats may be particularly favored hosts. Some recorded hosts include:

Geothlypis trichas

Cardinalis cardinalis

Passerina ciris

Sialia sialis

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Troglodytes aedon

Zonotrichia albicollis

Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

Dama dama

Human (Homo sapiens)

Eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana)

Odocoileus virginianus

Marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris)

Cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus)

Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)

Pig (Sus scrofa)

Sylvilagus palustris

In 2013, the infectious agent of American tick bite fever, Rickettsia parkeri was detected in a female A. maculatum collected at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, near Smyrna, Delaware, providing the first evidence of association of this pathogen of humans with this species of tick in the state.

Literature cited

Clark, K.L., Oliver, J.H., Jr., Grego, J.M., James, A.M., Durden, L.A. and Banks, C.W. 2001. Host associations of ticks parasitizing rodents at Borrelia burgdorferi enzootic sites in South Carolina. Journal of Parasitology 87(6):1379–1386.

Wilson, N. and Durden, L.A. 2003. Ectoparasites of terrestrial vertebrates inhabiting the Georgia Barrier Islands, USA: an inventory and preliminary biogeographical analysis (subscription required). Journal of Biogeography 30(8):1207–1220.

References

Amblyomma maculatum Wikipedia

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