Haemaphysalis leachi

Definition

A species of hard-bodied tick (family Ixodidae) in the genus Haemaphysalis, commonly known as the yellow dog tick or African dog tick. This three-host tick parasitizes domestic dogs and wild carnivores across sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East and South Asia. Adults feed primarily on canids, while immature stages (larvae and nymphs) typically infest smaller mammals and birds. The species is of veterinary significance as a vector of canine babesiosis (Babesia canis) and canine ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis), and serves as a model organism for studies of tick-host specificity and ixodid systematics.

Etymology

Genus name from Greek haima (blood) + physalis (bladder), referring to the blood-filled, bladder-like capitulum of type species; specific epithet honors British zoologist William Elford Leach (1790–1836).

Example

In field surveys of tick-borne pathogens in Kenyan pastoral zones, Haemaphysalis leachi was recovered from 34% of examined dogs, with peak adult abundance during the dry season when alternative wild hosts become scarce.

Synonyms

• Yellow dog tick
• African dog tick

Related Terms

• Haemaphysalis
• Ixodidae
• hard tick
• three-host tick
• tick vector
• Babesia canis
• Ehrlichia canis
• ixodid systematics
• canine acariasis

Usage Notes

The specific epithet is sometimes misspelled 'leachii' in older literature following King (1926), but Audouin's original 1826 spelling 'leachi' is now accepted. The common name 'dog tick' is ambiguous and best avoided without geographic qualification, as it is also applied to Rhipicephalus sanguineus (brown dog tick) and other species. Subspecific taxonomy remains unsettled; H. l. muhsami has been treated variously as a subspecies or synonym.