Ixodes prokopjevi (Emel´yanova, 1979)

Pholeoixodes prokopjevi Emel’yanova, 1979: 14.

Recorded hosts.

Mammalia: Daurian hedgehog Mesechinus dauuricus (Sundevall) (Emelyanova 1979) .

Recorded locations

(Fig. 28). Russia: Transbaikal (Emelyanova 1979).

Ecology and other information.

Ixodes prokopjevi is an extremely poorly studied tick species initially described based on the male holotype from steppes of north-eastern Mongolia; its paratypes, larvae and nymphs, are noted as originating from the outskirts of the lake Baruun Shavart Nuur in Eastern Mongolia, as well as females and nymphs from the south-eastern Transbaikal without any indications of certain points of findings (Emelyanova 1979).

Kolonin (2009) states that this species should be considered a synonym of I. crenulatus but Guglielmone et al. (2010, 2014) recognize it as a valid species.

The Daurian hedgehog was recorded as a host, but we can assume that carnivores, lagomorphs, and rodents are also hosts of this tick species, as in case of I. crenulatus, another representative of the subgenus Pholeoixodes and the most similar species to this tick. The distribution area and ecology of I. prokopjevi, as well host-parasite relationships and their role in transmission of vector-borne infections remain unknown.