The genus Hyalomma. XI. Redescription of all parasitic stages of H. (Euhyalomma) asiaticum (Acari: Ixodidae) and notes on its biology

Abstract

The tick Hyalomma (Euhyalomma) asiaticum Schulze & Schlottke is provisionally considered to belong to the H. (E.) asiaticum group of closely related species. Males of H. asiaticum can be distinguished from those of other species of the group by their long and very deep cervical grooves, long, narrow, straight adanal plates, long dorsal prolongation of the spiracular plates, dorsal posterior margin of the basis capituli deeply concave and angular, and unbroken ivory-coloured strip on the dorsal aspect of the leg segments. Females of H. asiaticum can be distinguished from those of other species of the H. asiaticum group by their very deep cervical grooves, narrowly U-shaped genital aperture, with bulging preatrial fold. Larger domestic and wild ungulates are the principal hosts of the adults, while nymphs and larvae parasitize mainly rodents, leporids and hedgehogs. Hyalomma asiaticum is widely distributed in Asia, from Syria in the West to eastern China in the East. Here all the parasitic stages of H. asiaticum are illustrated and redescribed. Data on its disease relationships are also provided.