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TICKS OF AUSTRALIA
Australia has about 70 species, mostly natives but a few introduced with livestock. A minority of them are soft-shelled ticks (Argasid) and the remainder are hard-shelled ticks (Ixodid) because they bear a hard plate (scutum: Latin for shield) on their backs. This shield covers most of a males back but only a small area behind the mouthparts of a female.
The following lists of species and host-species are not comprehensive. They are based on the old references of Roberts (1969) with sporadic additions from other sources. Some of the classifications and naming may have changed.
Tick Species List
Host-Tick Species List
| Tick Species | Described by | Common name | Distribution | Native ? |
| Amblyomma albolimbatum | Neumann | stump-tailed lizard tick | native | |
| Aponomma auruginans | native | |||
| Amblyomma australiense | native | |||
| Amblyomma echidnae | native | |||
| Amblyomma limbatum | Neumann | native | ||
| Amblyomma loculosum | Neumann | native | ||
| Amblyomma moreliae | Koch | snake tick | native | |
| Amblyomma moyi | native | |||
| Amblyomma papuanum | native | |||
| Amblyomma postoculatum | King Is | native | ||
| Amblyomma triguttatum | Koch | ornate kangaroo tick | native | |
| Aponomma concolor | Neumann | echidna tick | native | |
| Aponomma fimbriatum | Koch | goanna tick | native | |
| Aponomma hydrosauri | Denny | blue-tongued lizard tick | native | |
| Aponomma auruginans | Schulze | wombat tick | native | |
| Aponomma undatum | goanna tick | native | ||
| Argas (Carios) sp (an argasid tick) | bats | native | ||
| Argas persicus (an argasid tick) | Oken | fowl tick | ||
| Argas Robertsi (an argasid tick) | Hoogstral, Kaiser & Kohls | Robert's fowl tick | ||
| Boophilus microplus | Canestrini | cattle tick | Qld, NT, WA, northeastern NSW | Introduced at Darwin on cattle from Indonesia in 1872, it spread through Queensland and reached NSW in 1906 |
| Haemaphysalis bancrofti | Nuttall and Warburton | wallaby tick | coastal Qld and NSW to Nowra, Kangaroo Is (SA) | native |
| Haemaphysalis bremneri | Roberts | native | ||
| Haemaphysalis humerosa | Warburton and Nuttall | bandicoot tick | native | |
| Haemaphysalis longicornis | scrub tick, bush tick, New Zealand cattle tick | southern coastal Qld, coastal NSW, northeastern Vic, esp Murray Valley | Introduced from northern Japan, it was first recognised in 1901 in northeastern NSW | |
| Haemaphysalis novaeguinae | Hirst | native | ||
| Haemaphysalis ratti | Kohls | native | ||
| Ixodes antechini | Roberts | native | ||
| Ixodes auritulus | Neumann | Tas | native | |
| Ixodes australiensis | Neumann | indigenous tick | WA and Tas | native |
| Ixodes confusus | Roberts | native | ||
| Ixodes cordifer | Neumann | Far North Queensland | native | |
| Ixodes cornuatus | Roberts | indigenous tick | southeast coastal NSW, central Vic, Tas | native |
| Ixodes eudyptidis | Maskell | native | ||
| Ixodes fecialis | Warburton and Nuttall | native | ||
| Ixodes holocyclus | Neumann | paralysis tick | Qld to Bairnsdale in Vic | native |
| Ixodes hirsti | Hassall | cat tick | native | |
| Ixodes hydromyidis | Swan | native | ||
| Ixodes kohlsi | Arthur | penguin tick | native | |
| Ixodes kopsteini | Oudemans | native | ||
| Ixodes myrmecobi | indigenous tick | southwest of WA | native | |
| Ixodes ornithorhynchi | Lucas | platypus tick | native | |
| Ixodes pterodromae | Arthur | native | ||
| Ixodes rothschildi | Nuttall and Warburton | native | ||
| Ixodes simplex simplex | Neumann | native | ||
| Ixodes tasmani | Neumann | possum tick, opossum tick | Tas, Vic, NSW. Qld, SA, WA | native |
| Ixodes trichosuri | Roberts | possum ixodes | native; possum, koala, wombat | |
| Ixodes uriae | White | native | ||
| Ixodes vespertilionis | Koch | native | ||
| Ixodes vestitus | Neumann | numbat tick | native | |
| Ixodes victoriensis | Nuttall | native | ||
| Ornithodoros capensis (an argasid tick) | Neumann | penguin tick | ||
| Ornithodoros gurneyi (an argasid tick) | kangaroo tick | found in western NSW through Queensland to the Gulf of Carpentaria | native | |
| Otobius megnini |
spinose ear tick |
Perth region (see Article below) |
introduced | |
| Rhipicephalus sanguineus | Lattreille | brown dog tick | mainly inland areas of Qld, WA, NSW, Vic, but found mostly in northern parts of Australia; also worldwide betrween latitudes 50 deg N and 30 deg S | introduced? |
| Host group | Host Family | Host Species | Common Names | Tick Species |
| Monotremata | Ornithorhynchidae | Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw and Nodder, 1799) | platypus | Ixodes ornithorhynchus, Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum |
| ? | Tachyglossus aculeatus | echidna | Aponomma concolor, Ixodes holocylus, Ixodes tasmani, Haemaphysalis humerosa, Amblyomma australiense, Amblyomma echidnae, Amblyomma moyi, Amblyomma papuanum, and Aponomma hydrosauri and Aponomma undatum | |
| Marsupialia | Dasyuridae | Antechinus flavipes (Waterhouse, 1838) | yellow-footed marsupial mouse | Ixodes antechini, Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani |
| Antechinus sp | Antechinus | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Phascogale tapoatafa (Meyer, 1793) | brush-tailed marsupial rat | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Marsupial rat | Marsupial rat | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Sminthopsis crassicaudata (Gould, 1844) | fat-tailed marsupial mouse | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Sminthopsis murina (Waterhouse, 1838) | grey marsupial mouse | Ixodes antechini | ||
| Dasyuris quoll (Zimmermann, 1777) | eastern native cat | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Dasyurus geoffroyii (Gould, 1841) | western native cat | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Dasyurops maculatus (Kerr, 1792) | tiger cat | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Native cat | Native cat | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Sarcophilus harrisii (Boitard, 1841) | Tasmanian devil | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Myrmecobiidae | Myrmecobius fasciatus (Waterhouse, 1836) | banded ant-eater | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes vestitus | |
| Peramelidae | Isoodon obesulus (Shaw and Nodder, 1797) | short-nosed bandicoot | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani | |
| Isoodon torosus (Ramsay, 1877) | giant brindled bandicoot | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Perameles nasuta (Geoffroy, 1804) | long-nosed bandicoot | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Perameles sp | Ixodes fecialis | |||
| Bandicoot | Bandicoot | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Phalangeridae | Pseudocheirus peregrinus (Boddaert, 1785) | ring-tail possum | Ixodes hirsti | |
| Pseudocheirus laniginosus (Gould, 1858) | south eastern ring-tail possum | Iixodes tasmani | ||
| Pseudocheirus sp | Ixodes tasmani | |||
| Petaurus sp | glider | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Schoinbates volans (Kerr, 1792) | greater glider | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Phalanger intercastellanus | Ixodes cordifer | |||
| Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792) | brush-tailed possum | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes trichosuri | ||
| Trichosurus sp | Possum | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Possum | Possum | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Dactylopsila trivirgata | striped possum | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes cordifer | ||
| Phascolarctidae | Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) | koala | Ixodes cornuatus, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes hirsti, Ixodes tasmani, Haemaphysalis sp | |
| Vombatidae | Vombatus hirsutus (Perry, 1810) | common wombat | Ixodes victoriensis | |
| Wombat | Wombat | Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes victoriensis, Aponomma auruginans wombat specific, probably the most common | ||
| Macropodidae | Bettongia leseur (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) | rat kangaroo | Ixodes australiensis | |
| Bettongia penicillata (Gray, 1837) | brush-tailed rat kangaroo | Ixodes australiensis | ||
| Dendrolagus lumholtzi (Collett, 1884) | tree kangaroo | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Protemnodon bicolor (Desmarest, 1804) | black-tailed wallaby | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes hirsti | ||
| Protemnodon sp | Ixodes tasmani | |||
| Setonix brachyurus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1830) | quokka | Ixodes australiensis | ||
| Macropus sp | unindentified kangaroos and wallabies | Ixodes cornuatus, Ixodes hirsti, Ixodes australiensis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixdoes fecialis | ||
| Lagomorpha | Leporidae | Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) | wild rabbit | Ixodes holocylus, Ixodes tasmani |
| Rodentia | Muridae | Hydromys chrysogaster (Geoffroy, 1804) | eastern water rat | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani |
| Hydromys fuliginosus (Gould, 1853) | western water rat | Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes hydromyidis | ||
| Rattus assimilis (Gould, 1858) | allied rat | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes hirsti | ||
| Rattus conatus (Thomas, 1923) | dusky field-rat | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes holocylus | ||
| Rattus calmorum | Ixodes fecialis | |||
| Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) | black rat | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes hydromyidis, Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) | brown rat | Ixodes holocylus, Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Rattus sp | Rats | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes hydromyidis, Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) | house mouse | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Mus sp | Mice | Ixodes fecialis | ||
| Conilurus albipes (Lichtenstein, 1829) | white-footed rabbit-rat | Ixodes tasmani | ||
| Rabbit-rat | Ixodes tasmani | |||
| Melomys cervinipes (Gould, 1852) | scale-tailed tree-rat | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Melomys littoralis (Lönneberg, 1916) | little tree-rat | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Uromys caudimaculatus (Kreoft, 1867) | giant sacle-tailed rat | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Uromys sp | Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes holocyclus | |||
| Carnivora | Felidae | Felis catus (Linnaeus, 1758) | cat | Ixodes fecialis, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes hirsti, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes cornuatus |
| Canidae | Canis familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) | domestic dog | Ixodes cornuatus, Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes australiensis | |
| Canis [familiaris] dingo (Meyer, 1793) | dingo | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Chiroptera | Vespertilionidae | Miniopteris schreibersii blepotis (Temminck, 1840) | bent-winged bat | Ixodes simplex simplex, Ixodes vespertilionis |
| Pteropus conspicillatus | spectacled flying fox | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Artiodactyla | Suidae | Sus scrofa (Linnaeus, 1758) | pig | Ixodes holocyclus |
| Bovidae | Bos taurus (Linnaeus, 1758) | ox | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes australiensis | |
| Ovis aries (Linnaeus, 1758) | sheep | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Capra hircus (Linnaeus, 1758) | goat | Ixodes holocyclus | ||
| Perissodactyla | Equidae | Equus caballus (Linnaeus, 1758) | horse | Ixodes holocyclus |
| Primates | Hominidae | Homo sapiens (Linnaeus, 1758) | man | Ixodes holocyclus, Ixodes tasmani, Ixodes confusus, Ixodes kohlsi, Amblyomma triguttatum, Ornithodoros gurneyi |
| Reptiles | Species of the genera Amblyomma, Aponomma, Hyalomma and Ornithodoros are most common | |||
| Ophidia | Colubridae | Demansia textilis (Dumeril and Bibron, 1854) | brown snake | Ixodes vestitus |
| Lacertilia | Scincidae | Tiliqua scincoides (Shaw, 1790) | blue-tongue lizard | Ixodes ornithorhynci |
| Pelecaniformes | Phalacrocoracidae | Phalacrocorax fuscescens (Vieillot, 1817) | cormorant | Ixodes kohlsi |
| Sphenisciformes | Spheniscidae | Eudyptula minor (Forster,1791) | little penguin | Ixodes kohlsi, Ixodes eudyptidis, Ixodes rothschildi |
| Eudyptula sp | penguin | Ixodes kohlsi, Ixodes uriae | ||
| Passeriformes | Pittadae | Pitta sp | dragoon bird | Ixodes holocyclus |
| Sylviidae | Pycnoptilus floccosus (Gould, 1851) | pilot bird | Ixodes sp (nymph) | |
| Corvidae | Corvus coronoides (Vigors and Horsefield, 1827) | raven | Ixodes holocyclus | |
| Acanthizidae | Sericornis frontalis (Vigors and Horsefield, 1827) | scrub raven | Ixodes sp (larva) | |
| Procellariiformes | Diomedeidae | Diomedia exulans (Linnaeus, 1758) | wandering albatross | Ixodes pterodromae, Ixodes uriae |
| Procellariidae | Puffinus tenuirostris (Temminck, 1835) | Tasmanian mutton bird | Ixodes kohlsi (in nests) |
Notes
Article 1: Foreign tick discovered in WA
Friday, 21 June 2002
Sourced from ABC
News Online on Aug 6, 2002.
A tick that is common in the Americas, Africa and India has found its way to Western Australia.
The Department of Agriculture says the spinose ear tick has been discovered in horses at Keysbrook, 50 kilometres south of Perth.
Chief veterinary officer Peter Buckman says the tick can survive off host animals for up to two years and cause serious complications.
Dr Buckman says the ticks breed in protected areas of buildings, trees and under rocks, and emerge to attach to host animals, including humans.
"It's possible that the tick can get into the ear of a human," he said.
"The tick has a wide range of hosts, it's mainly seen in cattle and horses but can affect other species, including humans."
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