Amblyomma

Amblyomma, also known as the Bont Ticks, are a genus of hard ticks. Some are disease vectors, such as of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in United States or ehrlichiosis in Brazil. This genus is the third largest in the family Ixodidae, after Ixodes and Haemaphysalis, with its species primarily occupying the torrid zones of all the continents. The centre of species diversity is on the American continent, where half of all the species occur. On this continent, Amblyomma species reach far beyond the torrid zone, up to the 40th parallel in the Northern Hemisphere, to the 50th parallel in the Southern Hemisphere, and even reaches the alpine zone of the Andes. They also occur in Eurasia, Africa and Australia.