ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1517704
This article is part of the Research TopicParasites at the One Health InterfaceView all 19 articles
Ixodid ticks of Palearctic bats: ecology, host-parasite relationships, geographic distribution and zoonotic importance
Provisionally accepted
- 1HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-Sucking Parasites and Vector-Borne Pathogens Research Group, Budapest, Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
- 2Romanian Ornithological Society, Cluj Napoca, Romania
- 3University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
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Bats in the Western Palearctic are host for diverse array of ectoparasites, including three ixodid ticks (Ixodes ariadnae, I. simplex, and I. vespertilionis), which are highly specialized to parasitize these mammals. In this study we collected and analysed 3965 host-tick records across 31 bat species from published literature, online sources, and unpublished field data. Individual batspecialist ticks showed distinct host preferences, with cave-dwelling bats accounting for over 90% of all records. Ixodes vespertilionis was the most generalist of them, with a broad host range and distribution, while I. simplex was highly host-specific, primarily parasitizing a single host species, Miniopterus schreibersii. Ixodes ariadnae had a similar host spectrum as I. vespertilionis but more restricted geographical range, likely influenced by seasonal and life history factors. Our findings revealed substantial geographical overlap in tick distributions across Central and Eastern Europe.Free-living tick stages were predominantly found in caves, and males were observed more frequently than females. Non-bat specific, as well generalist ticks such as Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. were rare on bats, with larger bat species being the commoner hosts.These ticks may host DNA of several bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens, suggesting an important role in pathogen transmission to bats and possibly other mammals. This study underscores the ecological significance of bat-specialist ticks and highlights the need for further research on their distribution, host interactions, and role in zoonotic disease transmission.
Keywords: Chiroptera, Host-specificity, Ixodidae, vector-borne pathogens, zoonotic diseases
Received: 26 Oct 2024; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sándor, Domșa, Péter and HORNOK. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Attila D Sándor, HUN-REN-UVMB Climate Change: New Blood-Sucking Parasites and Vector-Borne Pathogens Research Group, Budapest, Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
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