Ixodida {order} - Arthropoda; Arachnida;

Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, though the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates. Ticks belong to two major families, the Ixodidae or hard ticks, and the Argasidae, or soft ticks. Nuttalliella, a genus of tick from southern Africa, is the only member of the family Nuttalliellidae, and represents the most primitive living lineage of ticks. Adults have ovoid/pear-shaped bodies (idiosomas) which become engorged with blood when they feed, and eight legs. Their cephalothorax and abdomen are completely fused. In addition to having a hard shield on their dorsal surfaces, known as the scutum, hard ticks have a beak-like structure at the front containing the mouthparts, whereas soft ticks have their mouthparts on the underside of their bodies. Ticks locate potential hosts by sensing odor, body heat, moisture, and/or vibrations in the environment. Ticks have four stages to their life cycle, namely egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Ticks belonging to the Ixodidae family undergo either a one-host, two-host, or three-host life cycle. Argasid ticks have up to seven nymphal stages (instars), each one requiring blood ingestion, and as such, Argasid ticks undergo a multihost life cycle. Because of their hematophagous (blood-ingesting) diets, ticks act as vectors of many serious diseases that affect humans and other animals. full article at Wikipedia

Specimen Records:	29,995	Public Records:	15,048
Specimens with Sequences:	22,178	Public Species:	319
Specimens with Barcodes:	19,106	Public BINs:	574
Species:	402
Species With Barcodes:	342
Species List - Progress		Access Published & Released Data

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Collected from 58 countries. Top 20: Show All Countries

Uganda 1424 Kenya 295 Turkey 154 United States 1382 Chad 290 Ghana 138 Mongolia 1126 Germany 277 Costa Rica 103 Canada 1005 Panama 241 India 74 Belize 718 Australia 237 Pakistan 71 United Kingdom 555 Mexico 225 Georgia 55 Poland 353 South Africa 162