Ixodes frontalis ( Panzer, 1798 )

Fedorov, Denis & Hornok, Sándor, 2024, Checklist of hosts, illustrated geographical range, and ecology of tick species from the genus Ixodes (Acari, Ixodidae) in Russia and other post-Soviet countries, ZooKeys 1201, pp. 255-343 : 255-343

Ixodes frontalis ( Panzer, 1798)

Acarus frontalis Panzer, 1798: 59, 23; Koch 1844 a: 234.

Ixodes pallipes (Fabricius): Arthur 1963: 111.

Ixodes pari Leach, 1815: 399; Neumann 1911: 18.

Ixodes sturni Pagenstecher : Neumann 1901, 249.

Ixodes avisugus Berlese: Neumann 1899: 107.

Ixodes apronatus Kirshenblat, 1934: 257; Arthur 1963: 111.

Ixodes sigalasi Lamontellerie, 1954: 561; Lamontellerie, 1965: 87.

Recorded hosts.

Aves: Alectoris chukar (chukar partridge), Caprimulgus europaeus Linnaeus (European nightjar), Chloris chloris (European greenfinch), Corvus frugilegus (rook), Curruca communis (common whitethroat), Curruca curruca (lesser whitethroat), Erithacus rubecula (European robin), Falco tinnunculus (common kestrel), Fringilla coelebs (Eurasian chaffinch), Fringilla montifringilla (brambling), Garrulus glandarius (Eurasian jay), Hippolais icterina (Vieillot) (icterine warbler), Lanius collurio (red-backed shrike), Luscinia luscinia (thrush nightingale), Luscinia megarhynchos (Brehm) (common nightingale), Muscicapa striata (spotted flycatcher), Oenanthe hispanica (western black-eared wheatear), Oenanthe isabellina (isabelline wheatear), Parus major (great tit), Passer domesticus (house sparrow), Passer montanus (Eurasian tree sparrow), Petronia petronia (rock sparrow), Phoenicurus phoenicurus (common redstart), Phylloscopus trochilus (willow warbler), Phasianus colchicus (common pheasant), Pica pica (Eurasian magpie), Regulus regulus (Linnaeus) (goldcrest), Saxicola rubetra (Linnaeus) (whinchat), Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus) (European turtle dove), Turdus iliacus (redwing), Turdus merula (common blackbird), Turdus philomelos (song thrush), Turdus torquatus Linnaeus (ring ouzel), Turdus viscivorus (mistle thrush) ( Filippova 1977).

Mammalia: Meriones libycus (Libyan jird) ( Tsapko and Kotti 2017).

Recorded locations

(Fig. 36 ). Russia: Kurgan Oblast – the rural locality Ketovo ( Ruzsky 1929), Stavropol Krai ( Reznik 1950; Guseva 1962; Tiflova et al. 1970), Krasnodar Krai; Chechnya ( Marutyan 1963; Baisarova 2021), Dagestan ( Gusev and Guseva 1960). Ukraine: Poltava Oblast ( Olenev 1931 a), Odesa Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast ( Rusev 2009), Crimea ( Filippova 1977). Belarus: Pripyatsky National Park ( Tsvirko 2008). Moldova: Codru ( Morozov et al. 2022), Olănești ( Filippova 1977), Chishinau ( Morozov and Proka 2012). Armenia: Syunik Province (former Goris Province) ( Ogandzhanyan 1984). Azerbaijan: Alazani River ( Ter-Vartanov et al. 1956), Lankaran ( Filippova 1977), Shaki District ( Tsapko and Kotti 2017). Georgia: Kutaisi, Lagodekhi, Dedoplistsqaro ( Kirschenblatt 1936; Djaparidze 1960), Guria ( Sukhiashvili et al. 2020). Turkmenistam: outskirts of Magtymguly, Aydere ( Berdyev and Annaev 1997).

Ecology and other information.

Ixodes frontalis is an exophilic tick species parasitizing primarily dendrophilic birds ( Filippova 1977). It is relatively widely distributed throughout Europe, Western Asia, as well as North Africa ( Filippova 1977; Estrada-Peña et al. 2018). Ixodes frontalis is rare in most of its range. However, the place of mass reproduction of this species was discovered in Dagestan near the Sulak River in a big colony of rooks ( Gusev and Guseva 1960). Under the nests in the rookery, a high, uncountable number of larvae of these ticks was observed. Often there were up to 5,000 individuals per m 2 ( Tsapko 2023).

Single collections of I. frontalis from mammals are known as exceptions. In Europe, adults were found on representatives of the mustelid family ( Guglielmone et al. 2014). In the Shaki District of Azerbaijan (2 km north of the village of Şirinbulaq, 31 Oct 1956), two nymphs were taken from two Libyan jird Meriones libycus (collections of R. B. Kosminsky and R. S. Karandina) ( Tsapko and Kotti 2017). In addition, certain cases of attachments to humans are known ( Gilot et al. 1997).

Figures

Figure 36. Map of Russia and neighboring countries showing the locations where Ixodes frontalis was reported.