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[[File:Dermacentor reticulatus.jpg|150px|thumb|right|''D.reticulatus'' male - Rainer Altenkamp, Berlin, Wikimedia Commons ]]
''Dermacentor spp.'' can be identified by;
*Wide palps
*Rectangular base of capitulum
*Eyes
*Ornate
*Posterior anal groove
*Festoons on the posterior margin
There are two species found in the UK and europe ''D.reticulatus'' and ''D.marginatus'', the ornate sheep tick however this is absent from the UK. ''D.reticulatus'' is a three host tick found on meadows, pastures and forests in England and Wales. Adults will parasitse large mammals whilst larval and nymphal stages attack small mammals, insectivores and sometimes birds. The tick is known to transmitt a number of disease in man and and veterinary species. ''D.reticulatus'' is responsible for transmitting ''Babesia canis'' in dogs, ''B.divergens'' and ''B.ovis''in cattle as well as Q fever (''C.burnetii''), tularemia, ''Brucella'', ''Anaplasma ovis'' and ''Rickettsia conorii'' the cause of Boutonneuse fever. In horse ''D.reticulatus'' is responsible for the transmission of ''Babesia caballi'' and ''B.equi''. ''D.marginatus''