Ixodes cookei
Encyclopedia
Ixodes cookei is a species of tick
in the genus Ixodes
. It is normally a parasite of carnivora
ns, such as raccoons, foxes, and weasels, but has also been recorded on the groundhog
(Marmota monax) and the marsh rice rat
(Oryzomys palustris). In the northeastern United States, it is a vector of Powassan virus
.
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
in the genus Ixodes
Ixodes
Ixodes is a genus of hard-bodied ticks . It includes important disease vectors of animals and humans . Some ticks in this genus may transmit the pathogenic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi responsible for causing Lyme disease...
. It is normally a parasite of carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
ns, such as raccoons, foxes, and weasels, but has also been recorded on the groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
(Marmota monax) and the marsh rice rat
Marsh Rice Rat
The marsh rice rat is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, from New Jersey and Kansas south to Florida and northeasternmost Tamaulipas, Mexico; its range previously extended further west and north, where it may...
(Oryzomys palustris). In the northeastern United States, it is a vector of Powassan virus
Powassan virus
The Powassan virus is a tick-borne encephalitis virus related to the classic TBE flavivirus. This disease had its earliest origins in the town of Powassan, Ontario, found in a young boy who eventually died from it....
.
Literature cited
- Levine, J.F., Sonenshine, D.E., Nicholson, W.L. and Turner, R.T. 1991. Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from coastal Virginia. Journal of Medical Entomology 28(5):668–674.
- Reeves, W.K., Durden, L.A., Ritzi, C.M., Beckham, K.R., Super, P.E. and O'Connor, B.M. 2007. Ectoparasites and other ectosymbiotic arthropods of vertebrates in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA (abstract only). Zootaxa 1392:31–68.