Ornithodorus puertoriciensis Fox, 1947
Ornithodorus puertoriciensis was originally described from the nests of rats in Puerto Rico. Dr. Fox (1977) found two engorged larvae on a kitten from the Santurce section of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The next day, three more larvae were collected. From the larvae adlts were reared for identification. This tick is mainly a parasite of wild rats and mice, but the larvae will bite other hosts including skunks, opossums, lizards, and even man. This tick was redescribed in 1989 by Endris et al. using specimens that were collected from rodent burrows by a vacuum sampling technique who showed that the range of this tick extended through Jamaica, Haiti, the Domican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Crois, the US Virgin Island, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, and into Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Surinam.
Endris RG, Keirans JE, Robbins RG, Hess WR. 1989. Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) puertoricensis (Acari: Argasidae): Redescription by scanning electron microscopy. J Med Ent 26:146-154.
Fox I. 1947. Ornithodorospuertoricensis, a new tick from rats in Puerto Rico. J Parasitol 33:253-259.
Fox I. 1977. The domestic cat, Feliscatus L.,, a new host recored for the tick Ornithodorospurertoricensis Fox. J Ag Univ Puerto Rico 61:509.