The panduriform body is rounded behind and slightly attenuated anteriorly, broadest at legs II and III, constricted just behind leg IV
The granulated integument lacks true mammillae but features numerous circular depressions with central tubercles, symmetrical and slightly depressed disc areas, and a few fine anterior hairs
The short, heavy legs have few inconspicuous hairs and a moderate subapical dorsal protuberance on tarsi II, III, and IV, while the coxae are marked by elongated smooth sclerites and deep posterior invaginations (coxa IV also has an anterior invagination)
The capitulum features a short, broad, reniform basis, a very short and broad hood, a hair-lined camerostome, short, heavy palpi with a ventrally/laterally swollen first article, and a vestigial, toothless hypostome
The adult lacks eyes but possesses a sexual opening at the level of the posterior ends of coxae I, circular, mildly convex spiracles, a very small circular anus, coxal and supracoxal folds, and a faint median postanal groove situated anterior to a short postanal groove.
Cooley, R. A., and Glen Milton Kohls. The Argasidae of North America, Central America and Cuba. American Midland Naturalist. Monograph ;No. 1, 152 p. The University press, 1944. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001632103.
First Nymph
This stage closely resembles the newly emerged second nymphal stage but is smaller overall, featuring more slender legs, an absence of posthypostomal hairs, and a much shorter hypostome.
Cooley, R. A., and Glen Milton Kohls. The Argasidae of North America, Central America and Cuba. American Midland Naturalist. Monograph ;No. 1, 152 p. The University press, 1944. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001632103.
Larva
The unfed larva is oval, and possesses two pairs of hemispherical, ocellus-like eyes and a thin, striated integument with symmetrically arranged bristle-like hairs
The capitulum is visible from both dorsal and ventral views, featuring a very long hypostome with a 2/2 denticle arrangement and very long palpi where articles 2 and 3 are equal in length and 1 and 4 are short
The long legs have a long pulvillus stalk and a small pulvillus
When fully fed, the distended larva becomes broader in front, with the capitulum projecting anteriorly in a conical shape.
Cooley, R. A., and Glen Milton Kohls. The Argasidae of North America, Central America and Cuba. American Midland Naturalist. Monograph ;No. 1, 152 p. The University press, 1944. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001632103.
Male
The panduriform body is rounded behind and slightly attenuated anteriorly, broadest at legs II and III, constricted just behind leg IV, and is generally a little smaller than the female
The granulated integument lacks true mammillae but features numerous circular depressions with central tubercles, symmetrical and slightly depressed disc areas, and a few fine anterior hairs
The short, heavy legs have few inconspicuous hairs and a moderate subapical dorsal protuberance on tarsi II, III, and IV, while the coxae are marked by elongated smooth sclerites and deep posterior invaginations (coxa IV also has an anterior invagination)
The capitulum features a short, broad, reniform basis, a very short and broad hood, a hair-lined camerostome, short, heavy palpi with a ventrally/laterally swollen first article, and a vestigial, toothless hypostome
The adult lacks eyes but possesses a sexual opening at the level of the posterior ends of coxae I, circular, mildly convex spiracles, a very small circular anus, coxal and supracoxal folds, and a faint median postanal groove situated anterior to a short postanal groove.
Cooley, R. A., and Glen Milton Kohls. The Argasidae of North America, Central America and Cuba. American Midland Naturalist. Monograph ;No. 1, 152 p. The University press, 1944. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001632103.
Second Nymph
This commonly observed stage is larger than the adult when fully fed
However, unfed specimens are much narrowed posteriorly, broadest at the third pair of legs, and rounded anteriorly
The shining integument features fine reticulations over depressed, spineless disc areas, while the rest of the body is covered in conspicuous spines: heavier-based spines occupy an anterior dorsal crescentic area extending to the anterior ventral surface, and more slender spines cover the posterior dorsal, lateral, and ventral areas
The short, heavy legs have slightly longer hairs than the adults and lack (or have very small) subapical dorsal protuberances, arising from indefinite coxae marked only by short, V-shaped sclerites
The smooth, subrectangular, ventrally tumescent capitulum lacks a hood and camerostome, instead featuring a few anterior lateral hairs, a group of short, heavy posterior spines, and a large, tapering hypostome with long, sharp denticles arranged 4/4 lacking posthypostomal hairs
True grooves are absent, folds are faint or absent, and the spiracles are conical.
Cooley, R. A., and Glen Milton Kohls. The Argasidae of North America, Central America and Cuba. American Midland Naturalist. Monograph ;No. 1, 152 p. The University press, 1944. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001632103.
TickMapKB is a database of tick species, their distribution, and associated data, compiled from published literature and publicly available sources. The authors are not liable for any inaccuracies or omissions in this resource. This database is intended to support research on tick ecology and distribution and does not necessarily reflect the views or objectives of the authors’ affiliated institutions or funders.
