Ixodes acutitarsus (Karsch, 1880)

Ixodes acutitarsus is a widely distributed Oriental and Palearctic species that has been reported from East, Southeast and South Asia, including Japan, China, India, Tibet and Nepal. In Southeast Asia it is known from Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (Petney and Keirans 1994; Kolonin 2009). It occurs in a variety of habitats and has a high altitudinal range (300-3,500 m above sea level) (Schulze 1939; Clifford et al. 1975; Tanskul et al. 1983; Keirans 1985). Filippova (1977) considers this tick to be a representative of the Indo-Malayan faunistic region.

Ixodes acutitarsus is the largest of the Southeast Asian Ixodes species; indeed, it is the largest known Ixodes in the world. Adults have been collected from medium-sized to large wild and domestic mammals in forested areas, while immatures parasitize smaller mammals (Clifford et al. 1975). There is also a record from birds (Guglielmone et al. 2014). Humans are relatively frequently attacked (Schulze 1939; Clifford et al. 1975; Tanskul et al. 1983; Heath and Hardwick 2011; Chao and Shih 2012).

Kitaoka et al. (1975) provide information on laboratory rearing. The female is described and illustrated in Yamaguti et al. (1971), nymphs and larvae in Clifford et al. (1975).