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Reposted by IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group

Hiné Mizushima/水島ひね @sheishine.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Giant Flea (2021). Slurp slurp…🩸 チューチュー吸う巨大ノミちゃん🩸 #hinemizushima #flea #bug #art #水島ひね

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Hi there, If you're interested in volunteering with us you can contact our co-chairs through the form at our website: www.iucnparasites.com/get-involved

iucnparasites.com

Get Involved — IUCN parasite specialist group

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Reposted by IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group

Petra Korlević @petrathepostdoc.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

best we can do is a Sabethes

photo of a persons finernail, with a big sabethes mosquito sitting on it, it has a shimmery blue carapace and little fans on their midlegs, with the hindlegs being curved over the body in an arch display

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Thanks to Runa Schwabe, David Thieltges and Cyril Hammoud along with the IMPACT project (Integrated Monitoring of Parasites in Changing Environments (IMPACT)), for sharing their illustrations and data for this post! For more information on IMPACT: www.nina.no/english/IMPACT

nina.no

Integrated Monitoring of Parasites in Changing Environments (IMPACT)

IMPACT aims to support the integration of parasites into aquatic biodiversity monitoring directives and environmental decision making.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Also vitally important is considering the impact of possible antiparasitic treatments on the survival of the European Eel Nematode, in order to prevent this unique species from falling victim to conservation-induced extinction.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

To reverse this decline, the Parasite Specialist Group recommends restricting fishing for the European Eel and restoring habitat so that both species can carry out their life cycles without disruption.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Despite their wide ranges, both species are threatened by overfishing, habitat degradation, and invasive species like Anguillicola crassus. Our experts' preliminary assessment of Spinitectus inermis suggests it should join its European Eel host as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Although absent from its host’s Scandinavian range, the European Eel Nematode is found across Western Europe as far west as Portugal east to the middle of Poland, and from England to the very tiptoe of Italy.

A map of Europe with a semitransparent blue polygon superimposed on it to represent the distribution of the European Eel Nematode (Spinitectus inermis). The polygon stretches between northern Portugal, northern England, the northern coast of Poland, and the southernmost point of Calabria in Italy.

Credit: Saraiva A., Moravec F., Pereira A., Cruz C. 2002: Development of Spinitectus inermis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), a parasite of eel, Anguilla anguilla, in Europe. Folia Parasitol. 49: 118–126. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2002.022

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

This worm starts its life as eggs floating in the water column waiting to be eaten by mayfly nymphs, in which it hatches and grows. When infected mayflies are eaten by eels, the nematode can mature, mate with other lucky worms, and expel eggs, beginning the cycle all over again.

An illustration of the European Eel Nematode (Spinitectus inermis) life cycle, showing arrows alternating between a mayfly larva at the bottom and a European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at the top.

Credit: Saraiva A., Moravec F., Pereira A., Cruz C. 2002: Development of Spinitectus inermis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), a parasite of eel, Anguilla anguilla, in Europe. Folia Parasitol. 49: 118–126. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2002.022

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Experts Runa Schwabe, David Thieltges, and Cyril Hammoud of the IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group and Biodiversa+ IMPACT team have been studying this species’s distribution and ecology to understand how threats to the European Eel are also impacting its endemic nematode.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

However, European eels are also host to a unique parasite, the nematode Spinitectus inermis, found in no other fish species. As these worms desperately need European eels to survive, the dramatic decline of this fish also threatens the parasite!

A black-and-white image of a European Eel Nematode (Spinitectus inermis) coiled up, with a white scalebar next to it.

Credit: Saraiva A., Moravec F., Pereira A., Cruz C. 2002: Development of Spinitectus inermis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), a parasite of eel, Anguilla anguilla, in Europe. Folia Parasitol. 49: 118–126. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2002.022

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The European Eel is one of the most widespread fish in Europe, found in freshwater ecosystems throughout most of the continent, but it’s also one of Europe's most imperiled fish. Since the 1970s the eel population has plummeted by over 90%, making it Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The IUCN Red List page for the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla), listing it as Critically Endangered (CR).

Page: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/60344/152845178

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Reposted by IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group

Elizabeth Beston @elizabethbeston.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Talking of parasitic copepods (see yesterday’s post), this one appeared in my sample a few months back. Check out the ‘straw’ that’s as long as its body. I think this is part of its mouth that it uses to penetrate a host and suck out delicious food. Very cool! #marineplankton 🦑

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Reposted by IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group

Elizabeth Beston @elizabethbeston.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I think this is awesome! This fella is a parasitic copepod from the family Pennellidae (order Siphonostomatoida). I love a parasite, and I love watching these fellas move! #marineplankton 🦑

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Congratulations to Richard Hasegawa and iNaturalist on the rare Golden Gate #leech (Helobdella californica) sighting!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

More research into the soft ticks and other parasite species will allow us to learn more about the reproductive strategies of parasites, and we may even find more examples of maternal care!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Alternatively, this strategy may have developed in an especially harsh environment where a brood left to its own devices would simply die out regardless of how big it is. Here the mother could serve to convey them to a host to give them a solid start at life.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Study in this area is still in its infancy, but it may be an environmental adaptation. Soft ticks often live in habitats where hosts are more reliably present, making it possible that a greater level of care for fewer offspring is more "worth it" in terms of lifelong reproductive success.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

This is especially remarkable because other arachnids like spiders, scorpions, and whip-spiders care for their young in a similar way, suggesting that this form of maternal care may have evolved independently in different arachnid lineages.

A scorpion mother with multiple baby scorpions on its back. The mother is black, and only the claws, legs, and tail are visible. The babies are pale miniatures of the adult and entirely cover their mother's back.

Credit: Tbodle, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scorpion_Mom_with_babies.jpg

A spider carrying several baby spiders on its abdomen. The babies are difficult to differentiate from one another as they crowd their mother.

Credit: KKPCW, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spider_carrying_baby_spiders_on_own_back_-_2.jpg

A female whip spider pregnant with offspring, which can be seen as an orange mass seemingly wedged in the mother's abdomen.

Credit: Pavel Kirillov, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pregnant_whip_spider_(15502406119).jpg

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Amazingly, a growing body of evidence suggests that some level of maternal care may not be an uncommon strategy among the soft ticks, with more examples found in other soft tick species and genera.

Two black-and-white photos of female Argas (Secretargas) transgariepinus carrying eggs (left) and larvae (right).

Figure text: "Fig. 3. Various sized Argas (Secretargas) transgariepinus females collected from the mine. One of the two females on the left were brooding an egg pack (photo taken in the mine tunnel). Females on the right were photographed using an Olympus SZ Stereo Microscopes using an 8× objective."

Credit: Pienaar et al. (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.03.020

Two photos of Argas (Argas) striatus. On the left, it is shown with larvae clinging to its underside. On the right, the microstructure of the ventral abdomen is shown, with a scalebar reading "200 μm".

Figure text: "Fig. 7. Maternal behaviour of Argas (Argas) striatus (left) (Olympus SZ51 Stereo Microscopes, 8× magni cation) and scanning electron micrograph depicting the microstructure of the
ventral part of the abdomen."

Credit: Pienaar et al. (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.03.020

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

This resident of bat caves in the Americas is the first known #tick to display maternal care for their larvae, the mother carrying them on her for their first few days of life before they set off to feed and grow on their own.

Two photos of female Antricola marginatus carrying several offspring on their backs, with white unlabeled scalebars on the bottom right of each image.

Figure text: "FIGURE 1. Antricola marginatus females. (A) One female carrying hundreds of larvae on its idiosoma. (B) Another female carrying hundreds of larvae on its idiosoma. Scale bars: 2 mm."

Credit: Labruna et al. (2012), https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-3056.1

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

However, at least some soft tick (family Argasidae) species take a different tack to the problem, as first seen in the species Antricola marginatus.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

From there, they have to hope they’re consumed by an intermediate host, and then from there they have to hope that that intermediate host is consumed by a definitive host in which they can finally mature and breed.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

This is the approach taken by many endoparasites such as tapeworms, which carry their eggs in body segments known as proglottids that regularly break off the tapeworm and are expelled with the host’s feces.

Photo of a pork tapeworm's (Taenia solium) proglottids, with reproductive organs visible in dark pink.

Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taenia_solium_tapeworm_proglottids_5261_lores.jpg

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Therefore, many parasites opt to churn out many offspring without investing anything in them after they’re born, similar to how sea turtles approach the problem: any one offspring will likely die, but at least one will probably survive to adulthood and reproduce.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

For a parasite, finding a host is the most important struggle of its life, and an individual parasite has slim chances of finding one. This is especially true for those parasites that need multiple hosts to complete their life cycle–they might have to get lucky up to three times!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Parasites live close to (and sometimes inside) their hosts for most of their lives, so how do they approach the problems of parenthood? That’s the topic of today’s special #MothersDay post!

Female argasid tick with a clutch of eggs.

Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Argas_spec_columbidae.jpg

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Reposted by IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group

Veeloxxy Bites @the-episiarch.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

The Worm In The Worm: Aborjinia is a genus of nematode worm which is found in the deep sea, from ~1000 to >8000 m below sea level. The larval stages are parasites of marine invertebrates such as polychaete worms. 🧪 zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1118...

The worm in the centre is a polychaete worm in the Terebelus genus and it is parasitised by a juvenile Aborjinia nematode worm. Encircling them is an adult Aborjinia nematode worm

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

In the last three decades Chinese fossils have revolutionized our understanding of feathered dinosaurs, and with time they may also revolutionize our understanding of how feathers gave rise to many different lineages of ectoparasites, including the ones we know today.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

All modern fleas feed on mammals or birds–most are mammal parasites, with several families becoming bird parasites independently. These ancient fleas may have fed on these hosts' prehistoric counterparts, or they may have fed on non-avian feathered dinosaurs or pterosaurs.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

They're very different from today's fleas: their bodies are flat along the top and bottom, while today's fleas are flattened along the sides to glide through dense fur or feathers. Notably, they also lack the specialized hind legs that let modern fleas leap over a hundred times their own size.

Pseudopulex tanlan fossils (A, C-J) and line drawing (B).

Figure text: "The holotype female Pseudopulex tanlan sp. nov. The specimen is from the Early Cretaceous (Yixian Fm.) of northeastern China. No. CNU-SIP-LL2013002, (D - J, under alcohol). (A and B) Photograph and line drawing; (C and D) Photograph of the head, C, without alcohol, D, under alcohol; (E) antenna; (F) femur of the mid-leg; (G and H) claw; (I) the segmental boundary of the abdomen; (J) terminalia of the abdomen. Scale bars, A and B, 2 mm, C - J, 0.2 mm."

Credit: Gao et al. (2014), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0168-1

Several species of present-day fleas from Argentina pictured in two columns and three rows.

Figure text: "Figure 2; Species of fleas representing the first record for La Rioja Province, Argentina. a Craneopsylla minerva, ♀ CMLA (608) (Stephanocircidae b Polygenis (Polygenis) acodontis, ♂ CMLA (674) (Rhopalopsyllidae) c Delostichus talis, ♀ CMLA (616) (Rhopalopsyllidae) d Delostichus talis, ♂ CMLA (619) (Rhopalopsyllidae) e Tiamastus palpalis, ♀ CMLA (631) (Rhopalopsyllidae) f Tiamastus palpalis, ♂ CMLA (629) (Rhopalopsyllidae). Scale=500 um."

Credit: López et al. (2017), https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.678.12006

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

There are four species of Pseudopulex known from the fossil record of China: P. jurassicus (the one illustrated on the shirt) and P. wangi from the Jurassic, and P. magnus and P. tanlan from the Early Cretaceous.

Figure showing fossils and illustrations of Pseudopulex jurassicus lettered A-J.

Figure text: "Figure 1 Holotype of Pseudopulex jurassicus Gao, Shih et Ren gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Northeastern China, CNU-NN2010001.

(A and B) Photograph and line drawing.
(C and D) Mouthpart photograph and morphological identification. Abbreviations are as follows: La, laciniae; Lp, labial palp; Mp, maxillary palp.
(E and F) SEM of mouthpart, middle, and tip parts.
(G) Right antenna.
(H) Claw of the left foreleg.
(I and J) Ctenidia of the tibiae.
Scale bars represent 1 mm (solid) and 0.1 mm (stippled) (see also Figure S1)."

Credit: Gao et al. (2012), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.012

Fossils and illustrations of Pseudopulex magnus lettered A-F.

Figure text: "Figure 2 Holotype of Pseudopulex magnus Gao, Shih et Ren sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Northeastern China, CNU-ND2010002

(A) Photograph.
(B and C) Mouthpart photograph and morphological identification. Abbreviations are as follows: La, laciniae; Lp, labial palp.
(D) Enlarged drawing of laciniae.
(E and F) SEM of mouthpart, middle, and tip parts.
Scale bars represent 1 mm (solid) and 0.1 mm (stippled) (see also Figure S2)."

Credit: Gao et al. (2012), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.012

Pseudopulex tanlan fossil (left) and illustration (right)

Credit: Gao et al. (2014), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0168-1

Fossils of Pseudopulex wangi

Credit: Huang et al. (2013), https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5769-3

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Despite its name being Latin for "false flea", Pseudopulex is a very real and very ancient #flea genus from the time of the dinosaurs!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

We'd like to again thank Buglife Scotland for answering our questions as well as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Species on the Edge for protecting the future of this iconic leech. In our still-nascent field, we would all do well to learn from the example they've set with the program.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

This isn’t the only medicinal leech under threat: the related leeches Hirudo verbana and Hirudo orientalis in Asia are likely threatened by similar circumstances to their European cousin, and future conservation efforts should also include these two species.

A photo showing Hirudo verbana (left) and the European Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis) (right). H. verbana is a green with a mottled brown and black pattern over its body, while H. medicinalis is green-brown with yellow stripes running lengthwise. The H. verbana is relatively upright, while the H. medicinalis is curved in an upside-down "U" over its own scientific name. A scalebar at the bottom reads "1 cm".

Credit: Kutschera and Elliott (2014), https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.90.8715

A Hirudo orientalis biting through a pair of pants. The leech is a dark green with brown bands running lengthwise, the brown bands interrupted by evenly spaced black spots.

Credit: Oleg Kosterin, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103257397

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

The successful maintenance of a captive breeding population and the program's positive publicity are promising signs for future parasite conservation efforts, and it's hoped that these leeches will provide the foundation for future reintroductions to bolster the Scottish leech population.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

These difficulties are being resolved through an iterative process, with practices continually improving as the program continues. The team has also made strides in improving the public image of this parasite through good press and clever public engagement.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Keeping leeches in captivity has forced keepers to confront the difficulties of their diet, our limited knowledge of even a relatively well-known species, and the troubled public image of parasites.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

In 2023, leeches were collected from the field in #Scotland, housed and fed in a custom-designed facility at Cairngorms National Park, and encouraged to breed. The very next year, these leeches began to produce viable offspring, breeding in both 2024 and 2025.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

It's a rare species in Scotland due to overcollection and habitat conversion, now found in only three places in the entire country. However, Buglife Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are running a groundbreaking captive breeding and reintroduction program to reverse this decline.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Despite its wide European range, the European Medicinal Leech is considered Near Threatened due to habitat destruction, climate change, and the decline of amphibian hosts that leech larvae rely on.

The IUCN Red List page for the global assessment of the European Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis), listing it as Near Threatened (NT).

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10190/21415816

A distribution map portraying the European Medicinal Leech's (Hirudo medicinalis) extant range as a yellow polygon on a map of Europe. The polygon covers the United Kingdom except the northernmost area of Scotland, southern Scandinavia, and northern France east, stopping just short of the Ural Mountains.

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10190/21415816

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

The European Medicinal Leech is likely one of the most famous parasites featured on our page as one of the #leeches used in the pre-modern medical practice of leeching and in the more up-to-date leech therapy used to facilitate treatments for certain ailments.

At Bedford Museum, a gray cylindrical earthenware jar used to keep medicinal leeches in the pre-modern past. Small holes are arranges in a band four-fifths of the way up the jar to allow air to enter. A sign under the jar reads "Medicinal leeches were kept alive in water in perforated earthenware jars that allowed air to enter, such as this one."

Credit: Simon Speed, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeechJarBedfordMuseum.JPG

A caricature of a physician prescribing leeches to an ailing woman lying in a bed. The text at the bottom reads "Toujours des sangsues!", French for "Always leeches!"

Credit: P. Numa, c. 1833, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_corpulent_physician_diagnoses_more_leeches_for_a_young_woman_Wellcome_V0011771.jpg

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

To finish #InverteFest on a high note, with the help of Buglife Scotland we'd like to discuss an ongoing and promising #conservation program aimed at a parasite that carries a long history with humanity: the European Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis)!

A European Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis) seen in the water. It is dark green with yellow bands running lengthwise down its body. One of its suckers is visible at the bottom of the image.

Credit: Georgy Vinogradov, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214144212

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

With a successful precedent in the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick program, we hope to expand both monitoring and protection for other threatened parasite species on the Ryukyu Islands!

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Out of the field (or ex situ), ticks collected from the wild were used as the foundation for a captive insurance population, giving us multiple generations of captive-bred ticks. These generations will protect the species against extinction and possibly even serve as models for study into parasites.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

In the field (or in situ), researchers have been surveying and monitoring the population of the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick on Amamiōshima alongside other tick species, learning more about ectoparasite communities on the island in the process.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Parasites are often forgotten or persecuted in the effort to protect their hosts. Thankfully the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick has avoided such a fate, instead becoming the focus of a captive breeding program and a monitoring program by Hokkaido University and one of our own co-chairs, Mackenzie L. Kwak.

Mackenzie L. Kwak, one of the co-chairs of the Parasite Specialist Group, seen here in a flamingo-print shirt looking into the eyepiece of a microscope.

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

However, this survivor has been troubled since the beginning of the 20th century by habitat destruction and invasive species, and it is considered Endangered. As the only host for the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick, if the rabbit goes extinct, the tick will go extinct too; this is known as coextinction.

A Small Indian Mongoose (Urva auropunctata) seen in a forest.

Credit: 環境省, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huirimongoose2.jpg

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

This #tick is a host-specialist on an equally unique host: the Amami Rabbit. This rabbit lives only on the islands of Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima in the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan and constitutes a living fossil from an ancient Eurasian rabbit linage.

An Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi), a rabbit with short ears and black-brown fur, seen here on the forest floor.

Credit: Wich’yanan (Jay) Limparungpatthanakij, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/217492813

The IUCN Red List page for the global assessment of the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi), listing it as Endangered (EN).

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16559/45180151

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IUCN SSC Parasite Specialist Group @iucnparasites.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

After highlighting our IUCN colleagues in yesterday's #InverteFest post, it's time to tell you about our own efforts with one of the flagship species of the Parasite Specialist Group and parasite #conservation as a whole: the Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi)!

Dorsal view of a male Ryukyu Rabbit Tick (Haemaphysalis pentalagi), a brown tick with a cream-colored shovelhead shape on its body. A scalebar at the bottom reads "0.2 mm"

Credit: Takamasa Nemoto

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