Dermacentor albipictus

Winter tick
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Subclass: Acari
Order: Ixodida
Family: Ixodidae
Genus: Dermacentor
Species: D. albipictus
Binomial name
Dermacentor albipictus
(Packard, 1869)

Dermacentor albipictus, the winter tick, is a species of hard tick that is an external parasite of moose (Alces alces) in North America. Heavy infestations of tens of thousands of ticks have been seen on single moose, and can lead to the death of the animal.[1]

There is evidence that the winter tick may be responsible for a steep decline in the Eastern moose population throughout the southern half of their range.[2]

References

  1. Samuel, Bill. White as a Ghost: Winter Ticks & Moose. Federation of Alberta Naturalists. ISBN 978-0969613466.
  2. Hari Sreenivasan (2014-04-07). "What’s devastating the wild moose population in New England?". Retrieved 2014-04-08. Missing or empty |series= (help)
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