Gulf Coast Tick

The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) is a species of hard tick in the genus Amblyomma, first described by Koch in 1844. Its immature stages typically infest small mammals and ground dwelling birds, with cotton rats especially favored hosts, while the full host list also includes deer, dogs, pigs, and humans. The species has been found carrying Rickettsia parkeri, the bacterium that causes American tick bite fever, and a 2013 detection in a specimen from Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware was the first evidence linking this pathogen to the species in that state.