title: Ixodoidea of the Western Palaearctic: A review of available literature for identification of species.
abstract: We aim to produce a review of the most important literature references necessary for the identification of ticks of the families Ixodidae and Argasidae in Europe and northern Africa (i.e. the Western Palaearctic region). The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint a set of critically selected papers that contain reliable information on morphology, taxonomic keys, and comparative discussions which are critical for the identification of the ticks reported in the target region. When necessary, comments are provided on the systematic position of a species, or on suitable papers already addressing the issue. This review includes a list of 216 references which cover all Ixodoidea species reported as permanent residents of the Western Palaearctic, namely 28 species of the genus Ixodes, two Dermacentor, seven Haemaphysalis, nine Hyalomma, eight Rhipicephalus, five Argas and about seven species of Ornithodoros.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Miguel Servet, 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: aestrada@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Agustín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Estrada-Peña
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Parasitology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kornblumenstrasse 13, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfäffle
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baneth
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kleinerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Parasitology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kornblumenstrasse 13, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Trevor N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Petney
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D026862:Argasidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D007814:Larva / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East; D009758:Nymph / Q000145:classification
keywords: Argasidae; Identification; Ixodidae; Literature references; Review; Western palaearctic