Dermacentor andersoni

style="background:#Template:Taxobox colour;"\|Dermacentor andersoni
style="background:#Template:Taxobox colour;" \| Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Arthropoda;
Class:	Arachnida;
Subclass:	Acari;
Superorder:	Parasitiformes;
Order:	Ixodida;
Family:	Ixodidae;
Genus:	Dermacentor;
Species:	D. andersoni;
Binomial name
	Dermacentor andersoni; Stiles, 1908
	File:Dermacentor andersoni range map.svg;

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Dermacentor andersoni, commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a species of tick.^[1] It can cause tick paralysis.

Diagnostic features:

The larva only has three pairs of legs.
The nymph has four pairs.
A single pair of spiracular openings (stigmata) are seen close to the coxae (leg bases or segments) of the fourth pair of legs (except in larvae).
A terminal capitulum (mouthparts) is visible from above in all hatched stages.
A large sclerite called the scutum is present dorsally behind the capitulum. The scutum almost entirely covers the back of the male, but only partly covers the back of the female.
Eyes, if present, are on the scutum.
Sexual dimorphism in size and colour is frequent. The female is often larger.
The posterior margin of opisthosoma is usually subdivided into sclerites called festoons.
The pedipalps are rigid along the chelicerae, and are not leg-like.