Carios denmarki (Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford, 1965)

Velde, Nancy Vander Velde And Brian Vander & O., P., 2013, Known and potential ticks and tick-borne pathogens of Micronesia, Micronesica 2013 (1), pp. 1-26 : 4-6

Carios denmarki (Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford, 1965) = Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford, 1965

Despite of the difficulty in differentiating Carios denmarki and the above C. capensis, Amerson (1968) said that this tick has “been found to be associated with sea birds breeding on islands in the Central Pacific region” when discussing easternmost Micronesia. He distinguished between and reported both of these soft tick species from various seabirds. The most common host reported was the ground nesting sooty tern ( Sterna fuscata ).

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5 Ixodes amersoni Kohls, 1966

Initially Ixodes amersoni was known from only two islands in the Phoenix Islands group of Kiribati, and only from the white tern ( Gygis alba ) and the red-footed booby ( Sula sula ) ( Amerson 1968, wikipedia.org). However, its endemicity was never certain. Even following the discovery of the type specimens of Ixodes amersoni in the Phoenix Islands in 1966 as part of the Smithsonian’s extensive ecological survey of the Central Pacific, Amerson (1968) remarked that he figured that “in time it probably will be found on other islands of the southern Central Pacific area as well.” In 2006, as part of the preparation of the Phoenix Island Conversation Area, “Extensive searches for the tick, Ixodes amersoni , were completed on other Phoenix Islands (besides Enderbury and Rawaki), but the tick was not found” ( Uwate & Teroroko 2007). However, this tick species has been found on the white-headed petrel ( Pterodroma lessoni ) on Kermadec Island ( Heath et al. 2011).