Ixodes kopsteini (Oudemans, 1926)

Petney, Trevor N., Boulanger, Nathalie, Saijuntha, Weerachai, Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia, Pfeffer, Martin, Eamudomkarn, Chatanun, Andrews, Ross H., Ahamad, Mariana, Putthasorn, Noppadon, Muders, Senta V., Petney, David A. & Robbins, Richard G., 2019, Ticks (Argasidae, Ixodidae) and tick-borne diseases of continental Southeast Asia, Zootaxa 4558 (1), pp. 1-89 : 31

Ixodes kopsteini (Oudemans, 1926)

Ixodes kopsteini is a widely distributed species that was originally described from the Moluccan Islands by Oudemans (1925, 1927). In 1961, Ixodes paradoxus , which is a junior synonym of I. kopsteini , was described from Malaysia and the Congo in Africa ( Kohls and Clifford 1961, 1968), while later records include the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and New Guinea ( Kohls and Clifford 1968; Robbins et al. 2004), as well as the Pacific Islands and Australia ( Roberts 1970; Hoogstraal 1982). This is a parasite of bats, including the families Pteropodidae , Molossidae and Vespertilionidae , and its habitat is restricted to bat caves (Hoogstraal 1982). Ixodes kopsteini is the only species of tick in which the eggs hatch to larvae inside the body of the dead female ( Anastos et al. 1973).

The female is illustrated in Kohls and Clifford (1961, as I. paradoxus ), the male in Kohls and Clifford (1968).