Tick is the common name for the small wingless arachnids
that, along with mites, comprise the order Acarina. Ticks
are external parasites, living off the blood of mammals,
birds, and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. The major
families of tick include the Ixodidae or hard ticks, which
have thick outer shells made of chitin, and Argasidae
or soft ticks, which have a membraneous outer surface.
Soft ticks typically live in crevices and emerge briefly
to feed, while hard ticks will embed themselves beneath
the skin of a host for long periods of time.Ticks can
transmit human diseases such as relapsing fever, Lyme
disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, equine
encephalitis and several forms of ehrlichiosis.
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