Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Order Ixodida Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Subclass Acari Family Ixodidae | |
Haemaphysalis hispanica is a tick species found in Europe. It is a relict parasite of the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus. The parasite probably has no role in transmitting pathogens to humans, but it can be of certain importance in the epidemiology of some diseases by maintaining the etiologic agent in a tick-vertebrate-tick cycle, one that can be intruded into by immature or adult stages of species that sometimes parasitize humans.
H. hispanica is related to species parasitizing carnivores in Asia and Madagascar, and hyraxes in the Ethiopian Faunal Region.
The male has 1.5 mm of length- from palpal apices to posterior scutal margin- and 1.0 mm of breadth. The female resembles male except for secondary sexual characters. Both are of redish-yellow color.