Ticks in Australia: endemics; exotics; which ticks bite humans?
Stephen C Barker A C D and Dayana Barker B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Discipline of Parasitology, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
B School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia
C Tel: +61 7 3365 3303
D Email: s.barker@uq.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 39(4) 194-199 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA18062
Published: 2 November 2018
Abstract
At least 71 species of ticks occur in Australia; a further 33 or so species are endemic to its neighbours, New Guinea and New Zealand. The ticks of Australia and other parts of Australasia are phylogenetically distinct. Indeed, there are at least two lineages of ticks that are unique to Australasia: the genus Bothriocroton Klompen, Dobson & Barker, 2002; and the new genus Archaeocroton Barker & Burger, 2018. Two species of ticks that are endemic to Australia are notorious for feeding on humans: (i) Ixodes holocyclus, the eastern paralysis tick, in eastern Australia; and (ii) Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum, the ornate kangaroo tick, in Western Australia, at one place in South Australia, and in parts of Queensland. Three of the other endemic species of ticks that feed on humans in Australia are also noteworthy: (i) Bothriocroton hydrosauri, the southern reptile tick, which is a vector of Rickettsia honei (Flinders Island spotted fever); (ii) Haemaphysalis novaeguineae, the New Guinea haemaphysalid; and (iii) Ornithodoros capensis, the seabird soft tick. Here, we present images of female Ixodes holocyclus, Amblyomma t. triguttatum, Bothriocroton hydrosauri and Haemaphysalis novaeguineae and our latest maps of the geographic distributions of Ixodes holocyclus, Amblyomma t. triguttatum and Bothriocroton hydrosauri. None of the five exotic species of ticks in Australia typically feed on humans.
References
[1] Barker, S.C. et al. (2014) A list of the 70 species of Australian ticks; diagnostic guides to and species accounts of Ixodes holocyclus (paralysis tick), Ixodes cornuatus (southern paralysis tick) and Rhipicephalus australis (Australian cattle tick); and consideration of the place of Australia in the evolution of ticks with comments on four controversial ideas. Int. J. Parasitol. 44, 941–953.| A list of the 70 species of Australian ticks; diagnostic guides to and species accounts of Ixodes holocyclus (paralysis tick), Ixodes cornuatus (southern paralysis tick) and Rhipicephalus australis (Australian cattle tick); and consideration of the place of Australia in the evolution of ticks with comments on four controversial ideas.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[2] Ash, A. et al. (2017) Morphological and molecular description of Ixodes woyliei n. sp. (Ixodidae) with consideration for co-extinction with its critically endangered marsupial host. Parasit. Vectors 10, 70.
| Morphological and molecular description of Ixodes woyliei n. sp. (Ixodidae) with consideration for co-extinction with its critically endangered marsupial host.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[3] Barker, S.C. and Walker, A.R. (2014) Ticks of Australia. The species that infest domestic animals and humans. Zootaxa 3816, 1–144.
| Ticks of Australia. The species that infest domestic animals and humans.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[4] Dobson, S.J. and Barker, S.C. (1999) Phylogeny of the hard ticks (Ixodidae) inferred from 18S rRNA indicates that the genus Aponomma is paraphyletic. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 11, 288–295.
| Phylogeny of the hard ticks (Ixodidae) inferred from 18S rRNA indicates that the genus Aponomma is paraphyletic.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[5] Barker, S.C. and Murrell, A. (2002) Phylogeny, evolution and historical zoogeography of ticks: a review of recent progress. Exp. Appl. Acarol. 28, 55–68.
| Phylogeny, evolution and historical zoogeography of ticks: a review of recent progress.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[6] Barker, S.C. and Murrell, A. (2004) Systematics and evolution of ticks with a list of valid genus and species names. Parasitology 129, S15–S36.
| Systematics and evolution of ticks with a list of valid genus and species names.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[7] Barker, S.C. and Burger, T.D. (2018) Two new genera of hard ticks, Robertsicus n. gen. and Archaeocroton n. gen., and the solution to the mystery of Hoogstraal and Kaufman’s ‘primitive’ tick from the Carpathian Mountains. Zootaxa 4500, 543–552.
[8] Lane, A.M. et al. (2005) Evidence of a spotted fever-like rickettsia and a potential new vector from northeastern Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 42, 918–921.
| Evidence of a spotted fever-like rickettsia and a potential new vector from northeastern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[9] Unsworth, N.B. et al. (2007) Flinders Island spotted fever rickettsioses caused by ‘marmionii strain’ of Rickettsia honei, eastern Australia. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 13, 566–573.
| Flinders Island spotted fever rickettsioses caused by ‘marmionii strain’ of Rickettsia honei, eastern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[10] Graham, R.M.A. et al. (2017) Detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia DNA by deep sequencing. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 23, 1911–1913.
| Detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia DNA by deep sequencing.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[11] Kohls, G.M. et al. (1965) The systematics of the subfamily Ornithodorinae (Acarina: Argasidae). II. Identification of the larvae of the Western Hemisphere and descriptions of three new species. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 58, 331–364.
| The systematics of the subfamily Ornithodorinae (Acarina: Argasidae). II. Identification of the larvae of the Western Hemisphere and descriptions of three new species.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[12] Doube, B.M. (1975) Cattle and the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus. Aust. Vet. J. 51, 511–515.
| Cattle and the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[13] Sutherland, S.K. and Tibballs, J. (2001) Australian animal toxins: the creatures, their toxins, and care of the poisoned patient (second edition). Oxford University Press.
[14] Graves, S.R. and Stenos, J. (2017) Tick-borne infectious diseases in Australia. Med. J. Aust. 206, 320–324.
| Tick-borne infectious diseases in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[15] Barker, S.C. (2003) The Australian paralysis tick may be the missing link in the transmission of Hendra virus from bats to horses to humans. Med. Hypotheses 60, 481–483.
| The Australian paralysis tick may be the missing link in the transmission of Hendra virus from bats to horses to humans.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[16] Guglielmone, A.A. (1990) Sites of attachment in Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae) on natural hosts. Ann. Parasitol. Hum. Comp. 65, 145–148.
| Sites of attachment in Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae) on natural hosts.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[17] McCarthy, P.H. (1960) Observations on the infestation of the larger domestic animals and the kangaroo, by the ornate kangaroo tick (Amblyomma triguttatum). Aust. Vet. J. 36, 436–437.
| Observations on the infestation of the larger domestic animals and the kangaroo, by the ornate kangaroo tick (Amblyomma triguttatum).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[18] Abdad, M.Y. et al. (2017) Rickettsia gravesii sp. nov.: a novel spotted fever group rickettsia in Western Australian Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum ticks. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 67, 3156–3161.
| Rickettsia gravesii sp. nov.: a novel spotted fever group rickettsia in Western Australian Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum ticks.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[19] Li, A.Y. et al. (2010) High prevalence of Rickettsia gravesii sp. nov. in Amblyomma triguttatum collected from feral pigs. Vet. Microbiol. 146, 59–62.
| High prevalence of Rickettsia gravesii sp. nov. in Amblyomma triguttatum collected from feral pigs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[20] Owen, H. et al. (2006) Detection and identification of a novel spotted fever group rickettsia in Western Australia. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1078, 197–199.
| Detection and identification of a novel spotted fever group rickettsia in Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[21] Owen, H. et al. (2006) Potentially pathogenic spotted fever group rickettsiae present in Western Australia. Aust. J. Rural Health 14, 284–285.
| Potentially pathogenic spotted fever group rickettsiae present in Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[22] Pearce, R.L. and Grove, D.I. (1987) Tick infestation in soldiers who were bivouacked in the Perth region. Med. J. Aust. 146, 238–240.
[23] Moorhouse, D.E. (1981) Animal toxins and man. Human poisoning by toxic Australian venomous creatures (Pearn J., ed.). pp. 63–69. Division of Health Education and Information, Queensland Health Department.
[24] Smyth, M. (1973) The distribution of three species of reptile ticks, Aponomma hydrosauri (Denny), Amblyomma albolimbatum Neumann, and Amb. limbatum Neumann. I. Distribution and hosts. Aust. J. Zool. 21, 91–101.
| The distribution of three species of reptile ticks, Aponomma hydrosauri (Denny), Amblyomma albolimbatum Neumann, and Amb. limbatum Neumann. I. Distribution and hosts.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[25] Bull, C. M. and King, D. R. (1981) A parapatric boundary between two species of reptile ticks in the Albany area, Western Australia. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 105, 205–208.
[26] Stenos, J. et al. (2003) Aponomma hydrosauri, the reptile-associated tick reservoir of Rickettsia honei on Flinders Island, Australia. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 69, 314–317.
| Aponomma hydrosauri, the reptile-associated tick reservoir of Rickettsia honei on Flinders Island, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[27] Whitworth, T. et al. (2003) Ultrastructural and genetic evidence of a reptilian tick, Aponomma hydrosauri, as a host of Rickettsia honei in Australia: possible transovarial transmission. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 990, 67–74.
| Ultrastructural and genetic evidence of a reptilian tick, Aponomma hydrosauri, as a host of Rickettsia honei in Australia: possible transovarial transmission.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[28] Stenos, J. et al. (1998) Rickettsia honei sp. nov., the aetiological agent of Flinders Island spotted fever in Australia. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 48, 1399–1404.
[29] Graves, S. and Stenos, J. (2009) Rickettsioses in Australia. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1166, 151–155.
| Rickettsioses in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[30] Murphy, H. et al. (2011) Rickettsia honei infection in human, Nepal, 2009. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 17, 1865–1867.
| Rickettsia honei infection in human, Nepal, 2009.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[31] Unsworth, N. et al. (2008) Markers of exposure to spotted fever rickettsiae in patients with chronic illness, including fatigue, in two Australian populations. QJM 101, 269–274.
| Markers of exposure to spotted fever rickettsiae in patients with chronic illness, including fatigue, in two Australian populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[32] Graves, S. and Stenos, J. (2003) Rickettsia honei: a spotted fever group Rickettsia on three continents. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 990, 62–66.
| Rickettsia honei: a spotted fever group Rickettsia on three continents.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[33] Dyer, J. R. et al. (2005) A new focus of Rickettsia honei spotted fever in South Australia. Med. J. Aust. 182, 231–234.
[34] Unsworth, N.B. et al. (2005) Not only ‘Flinders Island’ spotted fever. Pathology 37, 242–245.
| Not only ‘Flinders Island’ spotted fever.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[35] Kollars, T.M. et al. (2001) Short report: Thai tick typhus, Rickettsia honei, and a unique rickettsia detected in Ixodes granulatus (Ixodidae: Acari) from Thailand. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 65, 535–537.
| Short report: Thai tick typhus, Rickettsia honei, and a unique rickettsia detected in Ixodes granulatus (Ixodidae: Acari) from Thailand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
