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COMMON NAMES AND ETYMOLOGY FOR Ixodes holocyclus
The use of common names has led to a plethora of colloquial expressions for Ixodes holocyclus. The most generally accepted name is the "paralysis tick" but perhaps it should be "the paralysis tick of mainland Australia". The following list gives some of the other names, but some of these names are also used for other ticks found in Australia which leads to confusion.
The paralysis tick (Ixodes
holocyclus) can also be known as: |
The Linnaean name Ixodes holocyclus is derived from the New Latin word Ixodes² meaning "tick genus", combined with the Latin word holocyclus meaning "complete circle" referring to the anal groove which encircles the anus in this species and other members of its subgenus³.
¹ desription used in the The Northern Herald, Sydney, Aug 1996
² the first species name for a tick was Ixodes ricinus, for the European castor-bean tick. This goes back to Carolus Linnaeus of Sweden, originator of the binomial classification system. Ricinus is the Latin word for the castor bean plant. The New Latin word Ixodes is in turn probably borrowed from a Greek word. In ancient greek the word ixodes = tackiness - any connection with hard/scutate ticks???
³ thanks to Matthew Shaw for this information on etymology
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