Soft Tick - Carios kelleyi

Moved

… John R. Maxwell, 23 March, 2009 - 10:00am

Carios kelleyi

Short of having the actual specimen, I am as certain as can be that this is C. kelleyi.

… Jon Oliver, 23 March, 2009 - 9:49am

Bat tick

I think this is an adult bat tick, Carios kelleyi. These ticks are usually noticed several months after house owners have successfully excluded bats from a roosting space. The ticks emerge from the former roosting space searching for food.

… Jon Oliver, 22 March, 2009 - 10:04am

Systematics

The only useful freely available reference I found online was Cooley and Kohls 1944, American Midland Naturalist monograph 1. This picture is a good visual match to Ornithodoros kelleyi in that work.

Apparently the family has been reorganized since then but I don't know how. Neither neartica nor ITIS has any information. I'm inclined to leave this at family level until I understand the systematics better or get a firm ID.

… John F. Carr, 22 March, 2009 - 11:26am

Acari project

We've been using the Acari Project for mites and ticks, but if a species doesn't show up in the family you expect, it's basically trial and error to figure out where it is (not a searchable site)
...or maybe that's what you mean by "apparently it's been reorganized"?

… Charley Eiseman, 22 March, 2009 - 11:33am

Reorganization of Argasidae

Argasidae revision article:

Klompen, J. S H. and J. H. Oliver Jr.. 1993. Systematic relationships in the soft ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae). Systematic Entomology 18:313–331.

… Jon Oliver, 22 March, 2009 - 2:08pm

Formerly Ornithodoros

I think current taxonomy for this species is
Argasidae : Ornithodorinae : Carios kelleyi (Cooley & Kohls, 1941)

I'll check the books tomorrow to see if I can't conclusively key this out, as well. Excellent pictures, and a great addition to the guide.

… Jon Oliver, 22 March, 2009 - 2:02pm

Sorry I can't help with an ID...

...but just wanted to say that these are great pictures of a very interesting subject! I'll be looking forward to hearing what the experts have to say...

Oh, and Welcome to BugGuide!.

… Harsi S. Parker, 19 March, 2009 - 8:38pm