Argasidae

Argasidae
Otobius megnini
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Subclass:	Acari
Superorder:	Parasitiformes
Order:	Ixodida
Family:	Argasidae C. L. Koch, 1844

Argasidae is a family of ticks containing the soft ticks. They lack the hard scutum that is present in the hard ticks (Ixodidae).^[1] The capitulum (mouthparts-bearing structure) is located on the underside of the animal's body and is not readily visible.^[1] The family contains 193 species, although the composition of the genera is less certain, and more study is needed before the genera can become stable.^[2] The currently accepted genera are Antricola, Argas, Nothaspis, Ornithodoros and Otobius.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} D. H. Molyneux (1993). "Vectors". In Francis E. G. Cox. Modern parasitology: a textbook of parasitology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 53–74. ISBN 9780632025855. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jj18axV3TTAC&pg=PA6. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Alberto A. Guglielmone, Richard G. Robbing, Dmitry A. Apanaskevich, Trevor N. Petney, Agustín Estrada-Peña, Ivan G. Horak, Renfu Shao & Stephen C. Barker (2010). "The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida) of the world: a list of valid species names" (PDF). Zootaxa 2528: 1–28. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02528p028f.pdf. 

External links

• Data related to Argasidae at Wikispecies
• Media related to Argasidae at Wikimedia Commons