Robertsicus
| Robertsicus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female Robertsicus elaphensis. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ixodida |
| Family: | Ixodidae |
| Genus: | Robertsicus Barker & Burger, 2018[1] |
| Species: | R. elaphensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Robertsicus elaphensis (Price, 1958)[2] | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aponomma elaphense Price, 1958 | |
Robertsicus elaphensis, or the tail-eating tick, is a species of tick. It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico and southeastern United States including parts of Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, corresponding to the habitat of its sole host, the Trans-Pecos rat-snake (Bogertophis subocularis). It is the only reptile tick native to the United States, and is the only member of the Robertsicus genus.
Systematics
[edit]Robertsicus elaphensis was originally designated as an Aponomma.[3] Kaufman, in their review of the genus, grouped the species as a 'primitive' Aponomma, along with what was then Aponomma sphenodonti, a tuatara tick from New Zealand.[4] The analysis of Burger confirmed this distinction from the other members of Aponomma, showing the two species were not suitable for inclusion in Amblyomma, or Bothriocroton, the successors of Aponomma.[5] Barker & Burger established the Archaeocroton and Robertsicus genera to accommodate the species in 2018.[6] Robertsicus remains a monotypic genus.
| Ixodidae cladogram after Barker et al., (2024)[7] |
Ecology
[edit]Like many other reptile ticks, R. elaphensis completes its life stages in the burrow of the snake, moulting and laying eggs in the refuge.[4]
Morphology
[edit]Robertsicus elaphensis is most similar to Archaeocroton sphenodonti, both being inornate ticks with single coxa I spurs, with subtriangular basis capituli and strongly rounded cornua in the females. Price also considered the species comparable to Bothriocroton auruginans, due to the similar body profile, pale colouring and shared dental formula.[4]
Etymology
[edit]The genus is named for Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts, known as the 'Father of Australian tick biology'.[6] The species name is after the former name for its host genus, Elaphe.
References
[edit]- ↑ Barker, Stephen C.; Burger, Thomas D. (2018-10-18). "Two new genera of hard ticks, Robertsicus n. gen. and Archaeocroton n. gen., and the solution to the mystery of Hoogstraal's and Kaufman's "primitive" tick from the Carpathian Mountains". Zootaxa. 4500 (4). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4500.4.4. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ↑ Price, Manning A. (1958). "A New Species of Tick from the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas". The Journal of Parasitology. 44 (6): 649–651. doi:10.2307/3274556. ISSN 0022-3395.
- ↑ Price, Manning A. (1958). "A New Species of Tick from the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas". The Journal of Parasitology. 44 (6): 649–651. doi:10.2307/3274556. ISSN 0022-3395.
- 1 2 3 Kaufman, Thomas Stewart (1972). "A revision of the genus Aponomma Neuman 1899 (Acarina: Ixodidae)". PhD Dissertation.
- ↑ Burger, Thomas D.; Shao, Renfu; Barker, Stephen C. (2013). "Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rRNA genes of ticks reveals a deep phylogenetic structure within the genus Haemaphysalis and further elucidates the polyphyly of the genus Amblyomma with respect to Amblyomma sphenodonti and Amblyomma elaphense". Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 4 (4): 265–274. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.02.002.
- 1 2 Barker, Stephen C.; Burger, Thomas D. (2018-10-18). "Two new genera of hard ticks, Robertsicus n. gen. and Archaeocroton n. gen., and the solution to the mystery of Hoogstraal's and Kaufman's "primitive" tick from the Carpathian Mountains". Zootaxa. 4500 (4). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4500.4.4. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ↑ Barker, Stephen C.; Kelava, Samuel; Mans, Ben J.; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A.; Seeman, Owen D.; Gofton, Alexander; Shao, Renfu; Teo, Ernest J. M.; Evasco, Kimberley L.; Soennichsen, Kari F.; Barker, Dayana; Nakao, Ryo (2024-02-12). "The first cryptic genus of Ixodida, Cryptocroton n. gen. for Amblyomma papuanum Hirst, 1914: a tick of North Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea". Zootaxa. 5410 (1): 91–111. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5410.1.5. ISSN 1175-5334.
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