Ticks Identification

1. Soft and Hard Ticks
IDENTIFICATION POINTS

2. Identification Points
• Length of mouthparts
• Eyes or eyeless
• Conscutum ornate or inornate
• Colour of legs
• Festoons or no festoons
• Anal plates or no anal plates

3. Hard Ticks

4. Mouth Parts (Hard Ticks)

5. IXODES
Palps Long & Slender
Color Pattern Absent
Eyes Absent
Festoones Absent
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Several flat ventral plates
Legs Slender & Uniform Color
Other

6. AMBLYOMMA
Palps Long
Colour Pattern Present
Eyes Flat-Convex
Festoones Present & ventral scutes
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Platelets
Legs Annulated
Other

7. HYALOMMA
Palps Long
Colour Pattern Absent
Eyes Convex
Festoones Present (Some species
reduced in number)
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Anals, Accessory & Sub-
Anals
Legs Annulated
Other

8. DERMACENTOR
Palps Medium & Broad
Colour Pattern Present
Eyes Present
Festoones Present
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Absent
Legs Uniform Color
Other Enlarged Coxa 4

9. RHIPICEPHALUS
Palps Medium
Colour Pattern Absent
Eyes Flat-Convex
Festoones Present
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Anals & Accessory +/-
Legs Uniform Color
Other Caudal Process +/-

10. BOOPHILUS
Palps Short
Colour Pattern Absent
Eyes Present (Indistinct)
Festoones Absent
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Anals & Accessory
Legs Slender, Yellow, Slightly be
added
Other Caudal process absent

11. HAEMAPHYSALIS
Palps Short, 2nd segment laterally
extended
Colour Pattern Absent
Eyes Absent
Festoones Present ( Some species
reduced in numbers
Anal Groove
Adanal Plates Absent
Legs Slender & Uniform color
Other

12. Margaropus
• Mouthparts very short
• Conscutum thin and transparent and the dark pattern
of the caeca can be seen from above
• Eyes present but not conspicuous
• No festoons
• Adanal plates on males well developed
• Banded legs
• The segments of the fourth pair of legs in males are
markedly enlarged
• One-host ticks

13. Rhipicentor
• Mouthparts of medium length
• Eyes present
• Festoons present
• Adanal plates absent
• Three-host ticks

14. Soft ticks

15. Argas
• Mouthparts recessed ventrally and not visible from
above (except in larvae)
• Eyes absent
• Spiracular plate postero-laterally between 3rd and
4th pair of legs
• Numerous symmetrically arranged discs on dorsal
side of body
• Several nymphal stages

16. Otobius
• Dark, violin-shaped adults
• Mouthparts recessed ventrally and not visible from above (except
in larvae)
• No lateral suture line on adults
• Nymphs diamond-shaped
• Larvae pear-shaped with clearly visibly anteriorly projecting
mouthparts

17. Ornithodoros
• Leathery-mammillated integument
• Mouthparts recessed ventrally and not visible from above
(except in larvae)
• Body margin rounded
• Supra-coxal fold
• Eyes absent or two pairs in the supra-coxal fold

18. Thank You