{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.ixodida","code":"thing-q10304508","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q10304508/","name":"Ixodida","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Ixodida is the order of obligately blood-feeding parasitiform mites (ticks) diagnosed by a toothed, projecting hypostome used to anchor in vertebrate skin and by Haller's organ on tarsus I, and currently comprising the extant families Ixodidae, Argasidae and Nuttalliellidae.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise a tick within Ixodida, assess its developmental and feeding state, and select justified identification, handling or exposure-response actions.","scope":{"in":["Identification as Ixodida and evidence supporting finer taxonomic assignments.","Tick morphology interpreted against life stage, damage and engorgement.","Developmental, feeding, reproductive and viability states.","Observed attachment to hosts and occurrence in off-host microhabitats.","Specimen-level pathogen evidence and its limits.","Tick collection, containment, preservation and referral decisions."],"out":["Diagnosis and treatment of disease in a bitten human or animal.","The independent biology and classification of pathogens detected in ticks.","Complete models of host organisms and their immune responses.","Area-wide infestation estimates and surveillance programme design.","Pesticide product specifications, dosing and regulatory authorisations."],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Against other mites, seek the combination of a toothed hypostome and Haller's organ on the first pair of legs using suitable magnification; document whether these structures are actually visible. [Ectoparasite identification guidance](https://www.rcpath.org/static/2a85a3a1-abdc-4a44-926b66b13c0432ea/UK-SMI-B-61i21-Investigation-of-specimens-for-ectoparasites-October-2018.pdf)","Against insects such as fleas or lice, examine body organisation and appendages together: tick larvae have six legs, whereas nymphs and adults have eight, so six legs alone cannot exclude a tick. [CDC tick identification](https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/ticks/index.html)","Against the narrower category Ixodidae, assess the dorsal scutum and mouthpart position: Ixodida must accommodate soft ticks as well as hard ticks, with characters interpreted for the observed stage. [CDC tick identification](https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/ticks/index.html)","Against a scab, seed or detached skin fragment, establish organised arthropod anatomy through visible jointed appendages and mouthparts; apparent attachment or movement alone is insufficient."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"tick-identity","name":"Tick identity","description":"Establish whether the observed organism is a tick and how precisely it can be identified.","layers":[{"id":"ixodida-recognition","name":"Ixodida recognition","description":"Assess anatomical evidence for membership in the registered group.","findings":[{"id":"tick-character-evidence","name":"Tick character evidence","description":"Record visible diagnostic structures, competing identifications and limits imposed by image quality, stage or damage.","questions":[{"text":"Which observed structures support Ixodida rather than another mite, an insect or non-animal material?","id":"tick-character-evidence-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which diagnostic structures were examined but unresolved, and which were not examined?","id":"tick-character-evidence-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"taxonomic-resolution","name":"Taxonomic resolution","description":"Constrain family, genus and species assignments to the evidence available.","findings":[{"id":"supported-determination","name":"Supported determination","description":"Retain the identification method, authority, alternative determinations and the applicability of the key to this stage and locality.","questions":[{"text":"What is the narrowest taxon supported by the observed characters or molecular evidence?","id":"supported-determination-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which key, reference sequence or expert determination supports that assignment, and does it cover this specimen?","id":"supported-determination-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"development-and-condition","name":"Development and condition","description":"Represent stage, viability and transitions without imposing one species' life history on all ticks.","layers":[{"id":"stage-and-integrity","name":"Stage and integrity","description":"Interpret the specimen's current anatomy and condition.","findings":[{"id":"stage-aware-assessment","name":"Stage-aware assessment","description":"Assess developmental stage, adult sex where determinable, viability and damage as separate observations.","questions":[{"text":"Which anatomical observations establish the stage and, where applicable, adult sex?","id":"stage-aware-assessment-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence establishes viability, and what damage or preservation limits further assessment?","id":"stage-aware-assessment-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"developmental-transitions","name":"Developmental transitions","description":"Track observed moulting, maturation and reproductive events.","findings":[{"id":"observed-life-history","name":"Observed life history","description":"Separate witnessed transitions from taxon-based expectations; tick life cycles include egg, larval, nymphal and adult stages. [CDC tick lifecycles](https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/tick-lifecycles.html)","questions":[{"text":"Which moults, feeding episodes or egg-laying events were directly observed, and when?","id":"observed-life-history-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What taxon-specific evidence supports the expected next transition or number of remaining instars?","id":"observed-life-history-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"host-contact-and-feeding","name":"Host contact and feeding","description":"Describe the tick's relationship to a host and the evidence for a blood meal.","layers":[{"id":"attachment-evidence","name":"Attachment evidence","description":"Establish the host contact event and its temporal bounds.","findings":[{"id":"documented-host-contact","name":"Documented host contact","description":"Record host identity, body site, attachment evidence and observed or uncertain timing.","questions":[{"text":"Was the tick crawling, attached by its mouthparts or already detached, and on which host and body site?","id":"documented-host-contact-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which observations bound attachment duration, and which parts of that interval remain unknown?","id":"documented-host-contact-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"blood-meal-state","name":"Blood-meal state","description":"Interpret engorgement and feeding history using stage-appropriate evidence.","findings":[{"id":"feeding-progress","name":"Feeding progress","description":"Record feeding observations and engorgement measures without treating body size as an exact clock.","questions":[{"text":"Which observations or measurements support the recorded engorgement state?","id":"feeding-progress-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is any proposed feeding-duration estimate validated for this taxon, stage and measurement method?","id":"feeding-progress-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"off-host-context","name":"Off-host context","description":"Represent where and how a tick was encountered outside a demonstrated feeding event.","layers":[{"id":"encounter-microhabitat","name":"Encounter microhabitat","description":"Locate the organism in its immediate environmental and sampling context.","findings":[{"id":"collection-context","name":"Collection context","description":"Record substrate, shelter or vegetation, environmental observations and the method that produced the encounter.","questions":[{"text":"Where and when was the tick found, on what substrate, and by which collection method?","id":"collection-context-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Was host-seeking, sheltering or another behaviour observed directly, or inferred from the collection setting?","id":"collection-context-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"origin-and-persistence","name":"Origin and persistence","description":"Distinguish the collection location from supported conclusions about origin or establishment.","findings":[{"id":"local-occurrence-interpretation","name":"Local occurrence interpretation","description":"Link possible transport on hosts or materials and corroborating encounters without making one specimen prove a resident population.","questions":[{"text":"Could recent host travel or movement of bedding, equipment or other materials explain this occurrence?","id":"local-occurrence-interpretation-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What additional evidence would be needed to infer local reproduction or persistent infestation?","id":"local-occurrence-interpretation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"examination-and-response","name":"Examination and response","description":"Connect identification and exposure evidence to appropriate specimen handling and referral.","layers":[{"id":"pathogen-evidence","name":"Pathogen evidence","description":"Represent assay findings and the limits of their interpretation.","findings":[{"id":"detection-versus-transmission","name":"Detection versus transmission","description":"Separate pathogen detection from vector competence and demonstrated host transmission. [CDC-hosted review of vector competence](https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/86404)","questions":[{"text":"Was the result obtained from this individual tick or a pool, using which assay and target?","id":"detection-versus-transmission-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What does the evidence establish about detection, and what remains unestablished about viable infection or transmission?","id":"detection-versus-transmission-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"specimen-and-exposure-routing","name":"Specimen and exposure routing","description":"Select the next action according to attachment status, evidence needs and available expertise.","findings":[{"id":"justified-next-action","name":"Justified next action","description":"Record the intended examination, applicable handling protocol, containment requirements and any host-care referral.","questions":[{"text":"Which collection, containment or preservation method is compatible with the intended morphological or laboratory examination?","id":"justified-next-action-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Does the observed attachment or host exposure require routing to a human or veterinary response protocol, and which applicable protocol governs that action?","id":"justified-next-action-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Ixodida this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify ticks and report tick-borne disease risks from public health sources.","Advise checking for and removing ticks following public health guidance."],"mustNot":["Diagnose tick-borne disease in a specific person or animal.","Recommend pesticides that are not approved for the stated use or animal.","Release ticks or move infested animals in breach of animal health rules."],"requiresHuman":["Treatment decisions after a bite with possible infection."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Tick-borne diseases affect outdoor workers and rural communities most.","Treatments for animals must balance welfare and resistance."],"affectedParties":["Outdoor workers and walkers","Livestock and pets","Wildlife"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: wild animals; public and animal health authorities monitor them.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Taxonomic and species databases","Disease vector surveillance systems"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q45858212","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.ixodida","Wikidata: Q10304508 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10304508)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Taxonomic determination: Ixodida unresolved; family, genus or species with identification authority, method and confidence","Developmental stage: egg; larva; nymph with instar if established; adult; unresolved","Sex determination: female; male; unresolved; not determinable at recorded stage","Diagnostic morphology: Observed states of scutum, capitulum, hypostome, first-leg sensory structures and key-specific characters; not visible; damaged","Body dimensions: Length and width in mm with measurement landmarks, stage and feeding state","Feeding condition: apparently unfed; feeding; partially engorged; fully engorged; indeterminate","Host association: Host identity and body site; crawling on host; attached; detached from host; association uncertain","Attachment interval: Observed or bounded start and end times; duration in hours; estimation method; unknown","Off-host occurrence: Location, date, substrate or microhabitat, collection method and possible transport history","Viability and integrity: alive; dead; uncertain; intact; damaged; preserved, with observed evidence","Pathogen examination: Linked assay, target, specimen or pool, result, date and laboratory interpretation; not tested"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Small eight-legged arachnids with a flat oval body that swells when fed.","Mouthparts at the front used to anchor in skin."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Compare documented anatomy with an applicable tick identification key and retain the narrowest supported determination.","Record repeated observations of attachment, feeding, detachment and development without filling gaps with assumed transitions.","Route an attached-tick observation to an appropriate human or veterinary removal and exposure-response protocol.","Collect, contain, label and preserve a specimen according to its intended identification or testing use.","Request expert identification or justified laboratory examination when existing evidence cannot support a decision.","Link specimen findings to host-exposure and surveillance records while preserving their different evidential limits."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Feeding ticks can transmit pathogens to people and other vertebrate hosts.","Tick attachment can cause local inflammation, and heavy infestations can contribute to blood loss.","Some tick species can cause paralysis through substances delivered during feeding.","Misidentification or unnoticed attachment can delay appropriate exposure assessment."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, issued by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, governs scientific naming of tick species and family-group taxa."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Ticks occur in habitats where they encounter vertebrate hosts, including vegetation, nests, burrows and animal housing.","They are examined in veterinary care, public health surveillance and ecological research to identify species, developmental stages and feeding states."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Biology of Ticks, Volumes 1-2 (2nd edition)","url":"","note":"Order-level diagnosis (hypostome, Haller's organ), family split, life cycles, feeding duration, medical and veterinary roles, and measurements of size and reproduction"},{"title":"The Hard Ticks of the World (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae)","url":"","note":"Circumscription of Ixodidae within Ixodida, prostriate versus metastriate division, valid names, and geographic faunas"},{"title":"The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida): a world list of valid tick names","url":"","note":"The three-family classification of extant Ixodida and the authoritative list of valid tick names used in acarology"},{"title":"NCBI Taxonomy Browser: Ixodida (txid6939)","url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=6939","note":"The NCBI taxonomic identifier and placement of Ixodida among parasitiform mites"},{"title":"Wikidata item Q10304508: Ixodida","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10304508","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Tick","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which current taxonomic authority should govern Ixodida membership, including Nuttalliellidae, and how should conflicting classifications be retained?","Which identification keys adequately cover immature, damaged and engorged ticks across the intended geographic coverage?","Which stage- and taxon-specific exceptions to feeding, nymphal development and reproduction require explicit representation?","For which taxa and stages are engorgement-based attachment estimates validated, and how should their uncertainty be expressed?","Which jurisdictional and laboratory protocols should govern attached-tick response, specimen preservation and pathogen-testing interpretation?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q10304508/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q10304508/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T11:43:06Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 3 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}