''Ornithodoros'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the soft-bodied

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 ...

family,

Argasidae The Argasidae are the family of soft ticks, one of the three families of ticks. The family contains 193 species, although the composition of the genera is less certain, and more study is needed before the genera can become stable. The currently a ...

. It is distinguished from other genera in the family by the absence of a lateral 'suture' line. It is the largest genus within

, consisting of approximately 130 species. ''Ornithodoros'' ticks are parasitic associates of shelter-seeking vertebrates, such as

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s. Prior to its reclassification in 1844, the genus ''Ornithodoros'' was described under the genus ''Argas''.

Physiology

The opening between the

midgut The midgut is the portion of the human embryo from which almost all of the small intestine and approximately half of the large intestine develop. After it bends around the superior mesenteric artery, it is called the "midgut loop". It comprises ...

and

hindgut The hindgut (or epigaster) is the posterior ( caudal) part of the alimentary canal. In mammals, it includes the distal one third of the transverse colon and the splenic flexure, the descending colon, sigmoid colon and up to the ano-rectal junct ...

has been lost, preventing these ticks from excreting digestive waste products from their bodies.

Habitat

The genus ''Ornithodoros'' have been documented worldwide, with the highest occurrence in the Paleartic realm.

Life Cycle

The life cycle of all species of ''Ornithodoros'' is

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

and relies on one or multiple hosts, most of which are shelter-seeking vertebrates, and can also parasitize humans. Mating and

moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

occur in close proximity to sites frequented by the hosts, such as nests. Once a larvae hatches, it seeks out a host for its first meal of blood. After feeding for several hours to days, it detaches and molts into a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

. The nymph will then reattach to a host and repeat the cycle for up to seven

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

s. Once it reaches adulthood, it continues to feed on the hosts multiple times. Some ''Ornithodoros'' species can reproduce multiple times and may also exhibit

autogeny In entomology, anautogeny is a reproductive strategy in which an adult female insect must eat a particular sort of meal (generally vertebrate blood) before laying eggs in order for her eggs to mature. This behavior is most common among dipteran in ...

. The life span of some species may extend up to ten years.

Disease

Due to their status as obligate hematophages, ''Ornithodoros'' ticks are constantly exposed to blood-borne pathogens. When feeding on a host, small amounts of their saliva may enter the host and transmit infections. ''Ornithodoros'' is commonly recognized as a vector for

tick-borne relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus '' Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice, soft-bodied ticks (genus ''Ornithodoros''), or hard-bodied ticks (Genus Ixodes). S ...

. In addition to transmitting bacteria such as ''

Borrelia ''Borrelia'' is a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum. Several species cause Lyme disease, also called Lyme borreliosis, a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted by ticks. Other species of ''Borrelia'' cause relapsing fever, and are ...

'', it is also responsible for causing

relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus '' Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice, soft-bodied ticks (genus '' Ornithodoros''), or hard-bodied ticks (Genus Ixodes). ...

. Species of ''Ornithodoros'' are also known to transmit the

African Swine Fever Virus African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the ''Asfarviridae'' family. It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever, hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates i ...

, which causes

African swine fever African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the '' Asfarviridae'' family. It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; ...

in pigs or other closely related animals such as wild boars.

Taxonomy

The Linnean name derives from ''ornithos'' () and ''doros'' (), meaning "bird" and "gift", respectively. It contains these species: *'' Ornithodoros alactagalis'' Issaakjan, 1936 *†'' Ornithodoros antiquus'' Poinar, 1995 *'' Ornithodoros apertus'' Walton, 1962 *'' Ornithodoros arenicolous'' Hoogstraal, 1953 *'' Ornithodoros asperus'' Warburton, 1918 *'' Ornithodoros atacamensis'' Muñoz-Leal, Venzal & González-Acuña, 2016 *'' Ornithodoros brasiliensis'' Aragão, 1923 *'' Ornithodoros cholodkovskyi'' Pavlovsky, 1930 *'' Ornithodoros compactus'' Walton, 1962 *'' Ornithodoros coniceps'' Canestrini, 1890 *'' Ornithodoros costalis'' Diatta, Bouattour, Durand, Renaud & Trape, 2013 *'' Ornithodoros coriaceus'' Koch, 1844 *'' Ornithodoros eremicus'' Cooley & Kohls, 1941 *'' Ornithodoros faccinii'' Barros-Battesti, Landulfo & Luz, 2015 *'' Ornithodoros furcosus''

Neumann Neumann () is a German language, German surname, with its origins in the pre-7th-century (Old English) word ''wikt:neowe, neowe'' meaning "new", with ''wikt:mann, mann'', meaning man. The English form of the name is Newman. Von Neumann is a varian ...

, 1908 *'' Ornithodoros graingeri'' Heisch & Guggisberg, 1953 *'' Ornithodoros grenieri'' Klein, 1965 *'' Ornithodoros gurneyi'' Warburton, 1926 *'' Ornithodoros hermsi'' Wheeler, Herms & Meyer, 1935 *'' Ornithodoros indica'' Rau & Rao, 1971 *'' Ornithodoros kairouanensis'' Trape, Diatta, Bouattour, Durand & Renaud, 2013 *'' Ornithodoros kelleyi'' Cooley & Kohls, 1941 *'' Ornithodoros knoxjonesi'' Jones & Clifford, 1972 *'' Ornithodoros lahillei'' Venzal, González-Acuña & Nava, 2015 *'' Ornithodoros macmillani'' ( Hoogstraal & Kohls, 1966) *'' Ornithodoros madagascariensis'' Hoogstraal, 1962 *'' Ornithodoros marocanus'' Velu, 1919 *'' Ornithodoros merionesi'' Trape, Diatta, Belghyti, Sarih, Durand & Renaud, 2013 *''

Ornithodoros moubata ''Ornithodoros moubata'', commonly known as the African hut tampan or the eyeless tampan, is a species of tick in the family Argasidae. It is an ectoparasite and vector of relapsing fever in humans, and African swine fever in pigs. Description S ...

'' (Murray, 1877) *'' Ornithodoros nattereri'' Warburton, 1927 *'' Ornithodoros nicollei'' Mooser, 1932 *'' Ornithodoros normandi'' Larrousse, 1923 *'' Ornithodoros occidentalis'' Trape, Diatta, Durand & Renaud, 2013 *'' Ornithodoros parkeri'' Cooley, 1936 *'' Ornithodoros porcinus'' Walton, 1962 *'' Ornithodoros procaviae'' Theodor & Costa, 1960 *'' Ornithodoros quilinensis'' Venzal, Nava, Mangold, Mastropaolo, Casás & Guglielmone, 2012 *'' Ornithodoros rietcorreai'' Labruna, Nava & Venzal, 2016 *'' Ornithodoros rostratus'' Aragão, 1911 *'' Ornithodoros rupestris'' Trape, Bitam, Renaud & Durand, 2013 *'' Ornithodoros saraivai'' Muñoz-Leal & Labruna, 2017 *''

Ornithodoros savignyi ''Ornithodoros savignyi'', known as sand tampan, African eyed tampan or Kalahari sand tampan, is one of some 37 species in the genus ''Ornithodoros'' and is a Argasidae, soft tick with a leathery, mammillated integument, causing paralysis and tam ...

'' ( Audouin, 1827) *'' Ornithodoros sawaii'' Kitaoka & Suzuki, 1973 *''

Ornithodoros sonrai ''Ornithodoros'' is a genus in the soft-bodied tick family, Argasidae. It is distinguished from other genera in the family by the absence of a lateral 'suture' line. It is the largest genus within Argasidae, consisting of approximately 130 specie ...

'' Sautet & Witkowski, 1943 *'' Ornithodoros steini'' (

Schulze Schulze is a German surname, from the medieval office of Schulze, or village official. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Schulze (1896–1982), clergyman and civil rights activist * William August Schulze, rocket scientist recru ...

, 1935) *'' Ornithodoros tartakovskyi'' Olenev, 1931 *'' Ornithodoros tholozani'' Laboulbène & Mégnin, 1882 *'' Ornithodoros transversus'' (Banks, 1902) *'' Ornithodoros turicata'' (Dugès, 1876) *'' Ornithodoros xerophylus'' Venzal, Mangold & Nava, 2015 *'' Ornithodoros zumpti'' Heisch & Guggisberg, 1953 ''

Carios erraticus ''Carios erraticus'', formerly called ''Ornithodoros erraticus'', is a species of tick in the family Argasidae. The tick was described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1849. Description The tick is native to the Middle East and Mediterranean. It is one of ...

'' was previously placed in this genus, as ''Ornithodoros erraticus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q640158 Ticks Acari genera Argasidae Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Koch