Known and potential ticks and tick-borne pathogens of Micronesia Author Velde, Nancy Vander Velde And Brian Vander Author O., P. nancyv @ ntamar. net nancyv@ntamar.net text Micronesica 2013 2013 1 1 26 journal article 299044 10.5281/zenodo.12117350 88b107e9-e7b3-44a7-b88f-d50d1f124259 0026-279X 12117350 Carios denmarki (Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford, 1965) = Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford, 1965 Despite of the difficulty in differentiating Carios denmarki and the above C. capensis , Amerson (1968) said that this tick has “been found to be associated with sea birds breeding on islands in the Central Pacific region” when discussing easternmost Micronesia . He distinguished between and reported both of these soft tick species from various seabirds. The most common host reported was the ground nesting sooty tern ( Sterna fuscata ). a 5 Ixodes amersoni Kohls, 1966 Table 1: Ticks Reported from Micronesia

species	Palau	Yap	Guam	N. Mar.	Chuuk	Pohnpei	Kosrae	Mar. Is.	Wake	Nauru	Kiribati LinePhoenix
Amblyomma breviscutatum	K	K	K	K
Amblyomma loculosum	H
Amblyomma squamosum	K
b Carios capensis	K	X	A	A	A
c Carios denmarki	A	A
Ixodes amersoni	A
Ixodes eichhorni	d K
Haemaphysalis longicornis	S2	S1
Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus	K	K	K	K	Sar?
Rhipicephalus sanguineus	X	K	K	X	Sch	X	K
Unidentified species from Laticauda colubrina	X

a References: A = Amerson 1968 ; H = Hoogstraal et al. 1976 ; K = Kohls 1957 ; Sch = Schee 1904; S1 = Saville 1996 ; S2 = Saville 1999 ; Sar? = Sarfert 1919—probably this species but not certain; X = anecdotal report b Ornithodoros capensis in other reports c Ornithodoros denmarki or Ornithodoros capensis group in other reports d as Ixodes mindanensis Kohls, 1950 Initially Ixodes amersoni was known from only two islands in the Phoenix Islands group of Kiribati , and only from the white tern ( Gygis alba ) and the red-footed booby ( Sula sula ) ( Amerson 1968 , wikipedia.org). However, its endemicity was never certain. Even following the discovery of the type specimens of Ixodes amersoni in the Phoenix Islands in 1966 as part of the Smithsonian’s extensive ecological survey of the Central Pacific, Amerson (1968) remarked that he figured that “in time it probably will be found on other islands of the southern Central Pacific area as well.” In 2006, as part of the preparation of the Phoenix Island Conversation Area, “Extensive searches for the tick, Ixodes amersoni , were completed on other Phoenix Islands (besides Enderbury and Rawaki), but the tick was not found” ( Uwate & Teroroko 2007 ). However, this tick species has been found on the white-headed petrel ( Pterodroma lessoni ) on Kermadec Island ( Heath et al. 2011 ).