''Amblyomma maculatum'' (Gulf Coast tick) is a species of

tick 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, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks a ...

in the genus '' Amblyomma''. Immatures usually infest small mammals and birds that dwell on the ground; cotton rats may be particularly favored hosts. Some recorded hosts include: *'' Geothlypis trichas'' *''

Cardinalis cardinalis The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis''), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus '' Cardinalis''. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States fr ...

''Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 1 *'' Passerina ciris'' *'' Sialia sialis'' *'' Thryothorus ludovicianus'' *'' Troglodytes aedon'' *'' Zonotrichia albicollis'' *

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

(''Canis lupus familiaris'') *'' Dama dama''Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 5 *

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

(''Homo sapiens'')Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 2 * Eastern woodrat (''Neotoma floridana'') *'' Odocoileus virginianus'' *

Marsh rice rat The marsh rice rat (''Oryzomys palustris'') is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It usually occurs in wetland habitats, such as swamps and salt marshes. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, f ...

(''Oryzomys palustris'') * Cotton mouse (''Peromyscus gossypinus'') * Hispid cotton rat (''Sigmodon hispidus'')Clark et al., 2001, table IV *

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

(''Sus scrofa'') *'' Sylvilagus palustris''Wilson and Durden, 2003, table 4 In 2013, the

infectious agent In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term ...

of American tick bite fever, ''

Rickettsia parkeri ''Rickettsia parkeri'' (abbreviated ''R. parkeri'') is a gram-negative intracellular bacterium. The organism is found in the Western Hemisphere and is transmitted via the bite of hard ticks of the genus '' Amblyomma''. ''R. parkeri'' causes mil ...

'' was detected in a female ''A. maculatum'' collected at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, near

Smyrna, Delaware Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover metropolitan statistical area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2020, the population of the town is 12,883. The international juri ...

, providing the first evidence of association of this pathogen of humans with this species of tick in the state.David A. Florin, Ju Jiang, Richard G. Robbins & Allen L. Richards. 2013. Infection of the Gulf Coast tick, ''Amblyomma maculatum'' (Acari: Ixodidae), with ''Rickettsia parkeri'': first report from the State of Delaware. ''Systematic & Applied Acarology'' 18(1): 27–29; http://www.acarology.org/saas/saa/saa18/2013-18-027-029f.pdf.

References

Literature cited

*Clark, K.L., Oliver, J.H., Jr., Grego, J.M., James, A.M., Durden, L.A. and Banks, C.W. 2001. Host associations of ticks parasitizing rodents at ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' enzootic sites in South Carolina. Journal of Parasitology 87(6):1379–1386. *Wilson, N. and Durden, L.A. 2003
Ectoparasites of terrestrial vertebrates inhabiting the Georgia Barrier Islands, USA: an inventory and preliminary biogeographical analysis
(subscription required). Journal of Biogeography 30(8):1207–1220. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1954292 Amblyomma Animals described in 1844 Arachnids of North America

See also

References

Literature cited