Tick in Amber - Hard tick

Tick

Order Acarina, suborder Ixodidae, the so-called "hard" ticks. All ticks feed on blood, which may be obtained from amphibians, reptiles, birds or mammals. Almost the whole of the life cycle of a hard tick is spent on the host. Species of Ixodidae may be found on sheep, cattle, deer, rodents or dogs, they can also attack man.

Because ticks feed on blood, they are not commonly found in amber. Most of the animals that are found in amber are invertebrates. So blood feeding ticks just do not find themselves stuck in the sticky resin from the trees.

As you can see in this underside photo, the details that one can see (under a microscope) are unreal. If you know tick anatomy, the ventral side is beautiful.

It is so seldom that anyone ever gets to see a tick in amber, much less has the ability to purchase one that is in amber. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You probably will not see this chance again.

As you can see, the tick is in a beautiful piece of clear yellow Dominican Republic amber. The piece is small though, about .5 centimeters in length - that is a small piece of amber. But the tick is easily seen and just as impressive as it gets.

You will enjoy having this rare item in your collection! I have wondered if there is blood in the tick's gut from some warm blooded animal that was 25 million years old.

Take a look at some of the larger pictures of this parasite. All these pictures are larger than the ones above and well worth your look, enjoy!

Scanned image of the amber piece.

Postage for amber will usually cost $4.80 (USD) per order, anywhere in the world. There may be exceptions to this. We will get your sample to you as soon as possible (usually mailed the same day or at worst, the next day). U.S. orders go out by Priority Mail, overseas as Air Mail. Books are normally mailed "Media Mail", unless they are light, in which case they are mailed first class. Overseas books are air mail unless the weight is prohibitive, in which case you will have the option of surface (ship) or paying a bit extra for air mail. All prices are in U.S. dollars. If you are overseas and want something other than normal air mail - contact us when you make the purchase. For any questions, please contact us at sales@ambericawest.com.

Our emails are sent immediately, so if you don't receive it, it is likely caught in a spam filter. You will receive another email when your order ships which will contain the shipping information.

You can pay 3 ways, either by credit card (located on each page as the 'buy now' button), a personal check, or purchase order.

Finally, if you feel more comfortable, feel free to call us at 719-488-2654 (this is in the United States). This number works as a fax if you would like to fax your request or purchase order.

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