143 



SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS 



OF VALID SPECIES OF IXODES 



AND OF THEIR 



VARIETIES AND SUBSPECIES 



1. IXODES RICINUS 1 (Linnaeus, 1746 and 1758). 



Pis. IV and VII, Text-figs. 115, 139-148. 



Synonymy: not Reduvius Charleton, 1668, p. 49. 



? Ricinus caninus Ray, 1710, p. 10 (Synon. in Walckenaer and Gervais, 1844, 



p. 236). ?. 

 not Acarus reduvius Linnaeus, 1746, p. 479. Syst. natur. 1758, 10th edit., 



p. 616; 1788, 13th edit., p. 2925. 

 Acarus ricinus Linnaeus, 1746, p. 480 ; 1758, p. 615 ; 1788, p. 2925. 



Regarding the synonymy of this species, Neumann (1901, pp. 281-282) writes 

 as follows : 



"Linnaeus, in his Fauna suecica (1746), describes under No. 1192 an Acarus 

 ovinus, which he makes synonymous with Reduvius Charleton {Onomasticon zooicum, 

 1668) and Pedicidus ovinus Rajus {Historia insectorum, 1710). In his Systema 

 naturae (10th edit., 1758, p. 615), Linnaeus changes his Acarus ovinus to Acarus 

 reduvius, and gives it under this new name as No. 1966 in Fauna suecica (2nd edit., 

 1761), retaining his synonymies. On referring to the text and the figures of the 

 writers cited by Linnaeus, it is clearly evident that the writers mentioned were 

 dealing with Melophagus ovinus and not one of the Acari. It is consequently due 

 to an error that Linnaeus placed Reduvius or Pediculus ovinus in his genus Acarus. 

 Whatever may have been the form to which he desired to attach the name Acarus 

 reduvius, this name loses all taxonomic value, and it is necessary to revive the 

 name of Ixodes ricinus {Acarus ricinus Linnaeus), which applies to the same species 

 of tick and does not lead to confusion." 



Acarus ricinoides de Geer, 1778, vn, p. 98 ; p. 101 {reduvius). 

 Ixodes ricinus Latreille, 1804, I, p. 156 (9). 

 Ixodes reduvius Latreille, 1804, p. 51. 



1 According to Dubreuilh, 1900, p. 456, the word Ricinus, used to signify a tick by 

 Pliny, gave its name to the castor-oil plant, as stated by Dioscoridea, iv, 161, because the 

 seeds of the latter resemble a tick {i.e. the gorged females). 



