Dermacentor circumguttatus

Dermacentor circumguttatus is a species of hard tick belonging to the family Ixodidae.^[1]

Dermacentor circumguttatus
Female of D. circumguttatus, museum specimen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Ixodida
Family:	Ixodidae
Genus:	Dermacentor
Species:	D. circumguttatus
Binomial name
Dermacentor circumguttatus Neumann, 1897

Description

Dermacentor circumguttatus can reach a length of 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in). Ornamentation of males consists of eight pale spots near the periphery of the scutum. Festoons and central areas are inornate. In the females, the colour pattern is limited to three patches, one posteriorly and one anterolaterally on each side.^[2]

This African species has been found only on elephants and on the grey duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia).^[3] The main hosts of these hard ticks are the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).^[4]