Ixodes ricinus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sheep tick

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Acari
Family: Ixodidae
Genus: Ixodes
Species: I. ricinus
Binomial name
Ixodes ricinus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Ixodes ricinus, known as the sheep tick or castor bean tick, is a hard-bodied tick (family Ixodidae) of Europe[1]. It is a vector for Lyme disease and tick-borne meningoencephalitis in humans[2], and louping ill in sheep[3].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mangold AJ, Bargues MD, Mas-Coma S (1998). "18S rRNA gene sequences and phylogenetic relationships of European hard-tick species (Acari: Ixodidae)". Parasitol. Res. 84 (1): 31–7. PMID 9491423. 
  2. ^ Lindgren E, Tälleklint L, Polfeldt T (2000). "Impact of climatic change on the northern latitude limit and population density of the disease-transmitting European tick Ixodes ricinus". Environ. Health Perspect. 108 (2): 119–23. doi:10.2307/3454509. PMID 10656851. 
  3. ^ Louping ill, Center for Food Security and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, 2005-08-05, <http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/louping_ill.pdf>