Ixodes
Ixodes is a genus of hard-bodied ticks. It includes important disease vectors of animals and humans, and some species inject toxins that can cause paralysis. Some ticks in this genus may transmit the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi responsible for causing Lyme disease. Additional organisms that may be transmitted by Ixodes are parasites from the genus Babesia, which cause babesiosis, and bacteria from the related genus Anaplasma, which cause anaplasmosis.
Ecology and distribution
Ixodes species have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found across all major biogeographic realms, including Antarctica, being found on seabirds and in penguin rookeries. The genus parasitises a wide range of mammal, bird and reptile hosts across the world, although rodents and passerine birds are the most common hosts, especially in the Americas.Description and systematics
Ixodes is the sole representative of the Prostriata clade of the Ixodidae. Prostriate ticks are distinguished from the Metastriata with reference to the position of the anal groove. In Ixodes species, the groove loops anterior to the anus, whereas in Ambloymma, for example, the groove is positioned posterior to the anus. Ixodes species are small to medium-sized ticks, with a usually pyriform or ovate body profile. Mouthparts are anterior in both sexes, but usually long and slender in females, and short in males. Males have sclerotised adanal plates. Ixodes species are eyeless.Taxonomy
Ixodes contains 274 species. Classification, recognition and phylogenetic resolution of the Ixodes subgenera is ongoing. As many as 24 subgenera have been recognised by different authors. All are included here for completeness.Subgenera
Afrixodes Morel, 1966Alloixodes Černý, 1969Amerixodes Morel, 1998Australixodes Barker & Barker et al., 2023Ceratixodes Neumann, 1902Coxixodes Schulze, 1941Endopalpiger Schulze, 1935Eschatocephalus Frauenfeld, 1853Exopalpiger Schulze, 1935Filippoviella Apanaskevich, Greiman, Fedorov, Ahmed & BarkerHaemixodes Kohls & Clifford, 1967Indixodes Morel, 1998Ixodes Latreille, 1795Ixodiopsis Filippova Lepidixodes Schulze, 1935Monoindex Emelyanova & Kozlovskaya, 1968Multidentatus Neumann, 1904Partipalpiger Hoogstraal et al., 1973Pholeoixodes Schulze, 1942Pomerantzevella Feider, 1965Scaphixodes Schulze, 1941Sternalixodes Schulze, 1935Trichotoixodes Reznik, 1961Xiphixodes Schulze, 1941Species
Ixodes abrocomae Lahille, 1916Ixodes (Ixodes) abramovi Apanaskevich, 2024Ixodes acer Apanaskevich & Schenk, 2020Ixodes acuminatus Neumann, 1901Ixodes (Indixodes) acutitarsus Ixodes affinis Neumann, 1899Ixodes albignaci Uilenberg and Hoogstraal, 1969Ixodes (Ixodes) algericus Keskin, Aftisse and Apanaskevich, 2024Ixodes alluaudi Neumann, 1913Ixodes amarali Fonseca, 1935b- Ixodes (Afrixodes) ambohitantelensis Englert, Goodman & Apanaskevich, 2023Ixodes amersoni Kohls, 1966Ixodes (Australixodes) anatis Chilton, 1904Ixodes andinus Kohls, 1956aIxodes (Pholeoixodes) angustus Neumann, 1899Ixodes antechini Roberts, 1960Ixodes apronophorus Schulze, 1924Ixodes arabukiensis Arthur, 1959Ixodes arboricola Schulze and Schlottke, 1929Ixodes arebiensis Arthur, 1956cIxodes ariadnae Hornok, 2014Ixodes asanumai Kitaoka, 1973Ixodes aulacodi Arthur, 1956cIxodes auriculaelongae Arthur, 1958 Ixodes auritulus Neumann, 1904Ixodes (Endopalpiger) australiensis Neumann, 1904Ixodes baergi Cooley and Kohls, 1942Ixodes bakeri Arthur and Clifford, 1961Ixodes banksi Bishopp, 1911Ixodes (Endopalpiger) barkeri Barker, 2019Ixodes bedfordi Arthur, 1959Ixodes bequaerti Cooley and Kohls, 1945Ixodes berlesei Birula, 1895Ixodes bivari Santos Dias, 1990Ixodes bocatorensis Apanaskevich and Bermúdez, 2017Ixodes boliviensis Neumann, 1904Ixodes brewsterae Keirans, Clifford and Walker, 1982Ixodes browningi Arthur, 1956Ixodes brumpti Morel, 1965Ixodes brunneus Koch, 1844Ixodes calcarhebes Arthur and Zulu, 1980Ixodes caledonicus Nuttall, 1910Ixodes canisuga Johnston, 1849Ixodes capromydis Černý, 1966Ixodes catherinei Keirans, Clifford and Walker, 1982Ixodes cavipalpus Nuttall and Warburton, 1908Ixodes ceylonensis Kohls, 1950Ixodes chilensis Kohls, 1956Ixodes colasbelcouri Arthur, 1957Ixodes collaris Hornok, 2016Ixodes collocaliae Schulze, 1937Ixodes columnae Takada and Fujita, 1992Ixodes conepati Cooley and Kohls, 1943Ixodes (Sternalixodes) confusus Roberts, 1960Ixodes cookei Packard, 1869Ixodes cooleyi Aragão and Fonseca, 1951Ixodes copei Wilson, 1980Ixodes cordifer Neumann, 1908Ixodes cornuae Arthur, 1960cIxodes (Sternalixodes) cornuatus Roberts, 1960Ixodes cornutus Lotozky, 1956Ixodes corwini Keirans, Clifford and Walker, 1982Ixodes crenulatus Koch, 1844Ixodes cuernavacensis Kohls and Clifford, 1966Ixodes cumulatimpunctatus Schulze, 1943Ixodes dampfi Cooley, 1943Ixodes (Trichotoixodes) daveyi Nuttall, 1913Ixodes dawesi Arthur, 1956Ixodes dendrolagi Wilson, 1967Ixodes dentatus Marx, 1899Ixodes dicei Keirans and Ajohda, 2003Ixodes diomedeae Arthur, 1958Ixodes diversifossus Neumann, 1899Ixodes djaronensis Neumann, 1907Ixodes domerguei Uilenberg and Hoogstraal, 1965Ixodes downsi Kohls, 1957Ixodes drakensbergensis Clifford, Theiler and Baker, 1975bIxodes eadsi Kohls and Clifford, 1964Ixodes eastoni Keirans and Clifford, 1983Ixodes eichhorni Nuttall, 1916Ixodes eldaricus Dzhaparidze, 1950aIxodes elongatus Bedford, 1929Ixodes eudyptidis Maskell, 1885Ixodes euplecti Arthur, 1958Ixodes evansi Arthur, 1956Ixodes (Exopalpiger) fecialis Warburton and Nuttall, 1909Ixodes (Ixodes) festai Arthur, 1961Ixodes filippovae Černý, 1961Ixodes fossulatus Neumann, 1899Ixodes (Trichotoixodes) frontalis Ixodes fuscipes Koch, 1844aIxodes fynbosensis Apanaskevich, Horak, Matthee and Matthee, 2011Ixodes galapagoensis Clifford and Hoogstraal, 1980Ixodes (Filippoviella) ghilarovi Filippova and Panova, 1988bIxodes gibbosus Nuttall, 1916Ixodes giluwensis Apanaskevich & Schenk, 2020Ixodes goliath Apanaskevich and Lemon, 2018Ixodes granulatus Supino, 1897Ixodes gregsoni Lindquist, Wu and Redner, 1999Ixodes guatemalensis Kohls, 1956Ixodes hearlei Gregson, 1941Ixodes heathi Kwak, 2018Ixodes heinrichi Arthur, 1962Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) hexagonus Leach, 1815Ixodes himalayensis Dhanda and Kulkarni, 1969Ixodes (Sternalixodes) hirsti Hassall, 1931Ixodes (Sternalixodes) holocyclus Neumann, 1899Ixodes hoogstraali Arthur, 1955Ixodes howelli Cooley and Kohls, 1938Ixodes hyatti Clifford, Hoogstraal and Kohls, 1971Ixodes hydromyidis Swan, 1931Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) hunanensis Apanaskevich & Duan, 2022
- Ixodes (Afrixodes) hyracis Apanaskevich, Drew & Pienaar, 2025Ixodes inopinatus Estrada-Peña, Nava and Petney, 2014Ixodes jacksoni Hoogstraal, 1967Ixodes jellisoni Cooley and Kohls, 1938Ixodes jonesae Kohls, Sonenshine and Clifford, 1969Ixodes kaiseri Arthur, 1957Ixodes kandingensis Guo, Sun, Xu and Durden, 2017Ixodes kashmiricus Pomerantzev, 1948Ixodes kazakstani Olenev and Sorokoumov, 1934Ixodes kerguelenensis André and Colas-Belcour, 1942Ixodes kingi Bishopp, 1911Ixodes (Scaphixodes) kohlsi Arthur, 1955bIxodes kopsteini Ixodes kuntzi Hoogstraal and Kohls, 1965aIxodes laguri Olenev, 1929Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) lanigeri Hornok, 2024Ixodes laridis Heath and Palma, 2017Ixodes lasallei Méndez Arocha and Ortiz, 1958Ixodes latus Arthur, 1958Ixodes laysanensis Wilson, 1964aIxodes lemuris Arthur, 1958Ixodes lewisi Arthur, 1965Ixodes lividus Koch, 1844Ixodes (Haemixodes) longiscutatus Boero, 1944Ixodes (Amerixodes) loricatus Neumann, 1899Ixodes loveridgei Arthur, 1958Ixodes luciae Sénevet, 1940Ixodes lunatus Neumann, 1907Ixodes luxuriosus Schulze, 1935Ixodes macfarlanei Keirans, Clifford and Walker, 1982Ixodes malayensis Kohls, 1962Ixodes marmotae Cooley and Kohls, 1938Ixodes marxi Banks, 1908Ixodes maslovi Emel'yanova and Kozlovskaya, 1967Ixodes matopi Spickett, Keirans, Norval and Clifford, 1981Ixodes mexicanus Cooley and Kohls, 1942Ixodes microgalei Apanaskevich, Soarimalala and Goodman, 2013Ixodes minor Neumann, 1902Ixodes minutae Arthur, 1959Ixodes mitchelli Kohls, Clifford and Hoogstraal, 1970Ixodes mirzai Apanaskevich & Schenk, 2020Ixodes (Ixodes) mojavensis Backus & Beati, 2022Ixodes monospinosus Saito, 1967Ixodes montoyanus Cooley, 1944Ixodes moreli Arthur, 1957Ixodes moscharius Teng, 1982Ixodes moschiferi Nemenz, 1968Ixodes muniensis Arthur and Burrow, 1957Ixodes muris Bishopp and Smith, 1937Ixodes murreleti Cooley and Kohls, 1945Ixodes myospalacis Teng, 1986Ixodes myotomys Clifford and Hoogstraal, 1970Ixodes (Sternalixodes) myremecobii Roberts, 1962Ixodes nairobiensis Nuttall, 1916Ixodes nchisiensis Arthur, 1958Ixodes nectomys Kohls, 1956aIxodes neitzi Clifford, Walker and Keirans, 1977Ixodes nesomys Uilenberg and Hoogstraal, 1969Ixodes neuquenensis Ringuelet, 1947Ixodes nicolasi Santos Dias, 1982Ixodes nipponensis Kitaoka and Saito, 1967Ixodes nitens Neumann, 1904Ixodes nuttalli Lahille, 1913Ixodes nuttallianus Schulze, 1930Ixodes occultus Pomerantzev, 1946Ixodes ochotonae Gregson, 1941Ixodes okapiae Arthur, 1956Ixodes oldi Nuttall, 1913Ixodes (Coxixodes) ornithorhynchi Lucas, 1846Ixodes (Partipalpiger) ovatus Neumann, 1899Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls, 1943Ixodes (Ixodes) paragibbosus Hornok and Kontschán, 2025Ixodes paranaensis Barros-Battesti, Arzua, Pichorim and Keirans, 2003Ixodes pararicinus Keirans and Clifford, 1985Ixodes pavlovskyi Pomerantzev, 1946Ixodes percavatus Neumann, 1906Ixodes peromysci Auguston, 1940Ixodes persulcatus Schulze, 1930Ixodes petauristae Warburton, 1933Ixodes (Scaphixodes) philipi Keirans and Kohls, 1970Ixodes pilosus Koch, 1844Ixodes planiscutatus Apanaskevich & Schenk, 2020Ixodes pomerantzevi Serdjukova, 1941Ixodes pomerantzi Kohls, 1956Ixodes priscicollaris Schulze, 1932Ixodes procaviae Arthur and Burrow, 1957Ixodes prokopjevi Ixodes radfordi Kohls, 1948Ixodes rageaui Arthur, 1958Ixodes randrianasoloi Uilenberg and Hoogstraal, 1969bIxodes rasus Neumann, 1899Ixodes redikorzevi Olenev, 1927Ixodes rhabdomysae Arthur, 1959Ixodes ricinus Ixodes rothschildi Nuttall and Warburton, 1911Ixodes rotundatus Arthur, 1958Ixodes (Afrixodes) rubicundus Neumann, 1904Ixodes rubidus Neumann, 1901Ixodes rugicollis Schulze and Schlottke, 1929bIxodes rugosus Bishopp, 1911Ixodes sachalinensis Filippova, 1971Ixodes scapularis Say, 1821Ixodes schillingsi Neumann, 1901Ixodes schulzei Aragão and Fonseca, 1951Ixodes sculptus Neumann, 1904Ixodes semenovi Olenev, 1929Ixodes shahi Clifford, Hoogstraal and Kohls, 1971Ixodes siamensis Kitaoka and Suzuki, 1983 Ixodes sigelos Keirans, Clifford and Corwin, 1976Ixodes signatus Birula, 1895Ixodes (Trichotoixodes) silvanus Saracho-Bottero, Beati, Venzal, Guglielmone & Nava, 2021Ixodes (Pomerantzevella) simplex Neumann, 1906Ixodes sinaloa Kohls and Clifford, 1966Ixodes sinensis Teng, 1977
- Ixodes ''(Afrixodes) soarimalalae Apanaskevich & Goodman, 2020Ixodes soricis Gregson, 1942Ixodes spinae Arthur, 1958Ixodes spinicoxalis Neumann, 1899Ixodes spinipalpis Hadwen and Nuttall, 1916Ixodes spinosus Neumann, 1899Ixodes steini Schulze, 1935Ixodes stellae Apanaskevich & Schenk, 2020Ixodes stilesi Neumann, 1911Ixodes stromi Filippova, 1957Ixodes subterraneus Filippova, 1961Ixodes succineus Weidner, 1964Ixodes taglei Kohls, 1969Ixodes tamaulipas Kohls and Clifford, 1966Ixodes tancitarius Cooley and Kohls, 1942Ixodes tanuki Saito, 1964Ixodes tapirus Kohls, 1956
- Ixodes (Ixodes) tatei Arthur, 1959Ixodes (Endopalpiger) tasmani Neumann, 1899Ixodes tecpanensis Kohls, 1956Ixodes texanus Banks, 1909Ixodes (Trichotoixodes) theilerae Arthur, 1953Ixodes thomasae Arthur and Burrow, 1957Ixodes tiptoni Kohls and Clifford, 1962Ixodes tovari Cooley, 1945Ixodes transvaalensis Clifford and Hoogstraal, 1966Ixodes (Filippoviella) trianguliceps Birula, 1895Ixodes (Sternalixodes) trichosuri Roberts, 1960Ixodes tropicalis Kohls, 1956aIxodes (Trichotoixodes) turdus Nakatsudi, 1942Ixodes ugandanus Neumann, 1906Ixodes (Afrixodes) uilenbergi Apanaskevich & Goodman, 2020Ixodes (Afrixodes) uncus Apanaskevich & Goodman, 2020Ixodes unicavatus Neumann, 1908Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae White, 1852Ixodes vanidicus Schulze, 1943Ixodes venezuelensis Kohls, 1953Ixodes ventalloi Gill Collado, 1936Ixodes (Eschatocephalus) vespertilionis Koch, 1844Ixodes vestitus Neumann, 1908Ixodes victoriensis Nuttall, 1916Ixodes walkerae Clifford, Kohls and Hoogstraal, 1968Ixodes werneri Kohls, 1950Ixodes woodi Bishopp, 1911Ixodes (Endopalpiger) woyliei Ash, Elliot, Godfrey, Burmej, Abdad, Northover, Wayne, Morris, Clode, Lymbery and Thompson, 2017Ixodes zaglossi Kohls, 1960Ixodes (Ixodes) zacateco Apanaskevich & Bunn, 2025Ixodes zairensis'' Keirans, Clifford and Walker, 1982
Fossil Species
Three fossil species of Ixodes are known from amber deposits ranging from the Cretaceous to the Eocene:- †Ixodes antiquorum Chitimia-Dobler, Mans and Dunlop, 2022
- †Ixodes succineus Weidner, 1964
- †Ixodes tertiarius Scudder, 1885