n. a genus of hard *ticks, worldwide in distribution, the adults of which are parasites of humans and other mammals. The wood tick, D. andersoni, transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans in the western USA and the dog tick, D. variabilis, is the vector of this disease in the east.
Hard tick (ie tick with a hard dorsal scutum) belonging to the family Ixodidae. Includes amongst others, the genera Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Ixodes Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma.... ixodid
n. a bloodsucking parasite belonging to the order of arthropods (the Acarina) that also includes the *mites. Tick bites can cause serious skin lesions and occasionally paralysis (see Ixodes; Amblyomma), and certain tick species transmit *typhus, *Lyme disease, and *relapsing fever. Diethyltoluamide (DEET) is used as a tick repellent. There are two families: Argasidae (soft ticks), which includes Ornithodoros, with mouthparts invisible from above and no hard shield (scutum) on the dorsal surface; and Ixodidae (hard ticks), including Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Rhipicephalus, with clearly visible mouthparts and a definite scutum.... tick
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