A new genus of hard ticks in Cretaceous Burmese amber (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae)

Abstract

A hard tick larva in Cretaceous Burmese amber is described as Cornupalpatum burmanicum n. g., n. sp. Diagnostic characters include a subcircular body with a marginal groove, 11 festoons, elongate four-segmented palpi with the fourth segment distinct and apical, the absence of an anal groove and eyes, and the presence of claws on palpal segment 3. The last character is unique for all members of the Ixodida, both fossil and extant. Aside from the palpal claws and marginal groove, features of the tick larva closely resemble those of members of the genus Aponomma Neumann 1899, considered one of the most primitive tick lineages today, whose hosts are primarily reptiles.