Bothriocroton auruginans

Bothriocroton auruginans, commonly known as the wombat tick, is a hard-bodied tick species endemic to Australia.^[1]

B. auruginans has high host specificity to wombats, specifically Vombatus ursinus, the common wombat. Their distribution is thus closely correlated with the range of their host species, which extends from the Queensland-New South Wales border down through eastern Australian, including Tasmania. Although common wombat distribution extends as far west as Adelaide, B. auruginans is ostensibly not present in western Victoria, or South Australia.

Correspondingly, the species does not infest Lasiorhinus wombats, likely due to their limited ranges in central Queensland for Lasiorhinus krefftii, and arid South Australia, for Lasiorhinus latifrons. Domestic dogs are the only other reported hosts for B. auruginans, with infections with larval or nymphal instars likely arising from contact with wombat burrows.^[2]

Although bacteria like C. burnetii have been reported in wombat ticks, there are no pathogeneses are associated with B. auruginans, likely due to its strict host specificity.^[3]

B. auruginans, like all Bothriocroton, tend to be large ticks. They are particularly inornate, without enamel and with minimal punctation, which distinguishes them from their sister species, B. undatum. Also contrasting is the tarsi, which are dorsally bifid into distinct lobes.

The name auruginans comes from the latin root aurugo-, which refers to yellow or gold colouring.