The genus of Amblyomma is the third largest group of the Ixodidae family having 138 valid and one fossil species discovered throughout the world (Guglielmone et al., 2010), in which 14 species were recorded from India. Amblyomma genus is a competent vector for various bacterial, spirochete, and viruses causing severe diseases such as Lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, and novel relapsing fever in wild and domestic animals and also humans. The increasing rate of disease transmission is a major public health concern due to the lack of widespread surveillance data and successful treatments against tick bites. The third-largest group of Ixodidae comprises Amblyomma aureolatum, A. kraneveldi, A. cajennense, A. crassipes, A. gervaisi, A. echidnae, A. crassum, A. falsomarmoreu, A. crenatum, A. cruciferum, A. darwini, A. dissimile, A. pattoni, A. dubitatum, A. eburneum, A. elaphense, A. exornatum, A. extraoculatum, A. integrum, and A. javanense, etc...
Amblyomma integrum Karsch, 1879 is a three-host tick, harbored on various sized mammals, they can copy rickettsial infection to domestic and wild animals and also cause otocariasis to humans (Apanaskevich, Bandaranayaka, Apanaskevich, & Rajakaruna, 2016; Bandaranayaka, Rajapakse, Abeysundara, Rajapaksha, & Rajakaruna, 2014; Gill & Gill, 1977)). Amblyomma gervaisi Lucas, 1847 and Amblyomma pattoni Neumann 1910, predominantly hosted in reptiles and A. pattoni is rarely found in mammals and birds. A. gervaisi can be carrying Q fever causing pathobiomes Coxiella burnetii to the respected host species. They were continuously found in the placental and amniotic fluids of infected animals. Moreover, people are exposed through direct contact with urine, milk, and birth products of contaminated hosts (Duron, Sidi-Boumedine, Rousset, Moutailler, & Jourdain, 2015) such as cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs. Tick-borne Q fever abruptly spread to the human population in India, Sri Lanka, (Sahu et al., 2021), and Saudi Arabia due to the prevalence of A. gervaisi. Besides from Amblyomma javanense Supino 1897, another tick Amblyomma ovale that mainly prefers Manis javanica, Manis crassicaudata for hematophagy (Jabin et al., 2019). which is generally found in the Western hemisphere like Costa Rica (Calderón, Fonseca, & Gamboa, 2005), Mexico, and Panama (Uribe, Nava, Murphy, Tarragona, & Castro, 2020). they are the foremost carrier of the bacteria Rickettsia parkeri (Uribe et al., 2020).
Amblyomma geoemydae Cantor, 1847 (Amblyomma mlayanum) is a reptile tick, commonly seen in the land tortoise, and freshwater turtles, and occasionally selects snakes and small mammals. The geographical distribution of Amblyomma geomydae in previous literature is India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan. Amblyomma geoemydae is the synonym of Amblyomma malayanum given by Neumann in 1908 (Guglielmone & Robbins, 2018). Ehrlichia, Francisella, Hemolivia (Qiu et al., 2021), Borrelia miyamotoi (Knoll et al., 2021), and Borrelia lonestari (Hamšíková et al., 2017) are potentially relayed by A. geoemydae and they inducing Lyme disease and relapsing fever (Nakao et al., 2021). This is a three hosts tick and their life cycle is completed in turtles and small mammals. Only during the period of reproduction do they tend to occur on the forest floor. The life span of an adult male ends after mating and the female extends up to egg-laying. Around 1000 to 8000 eggs were released by a healthy female tick and which is protected from predators by secreting a waxy substance through porose presented on the dorsal surface of the capituli. The number of porose and shape are considered in species identification. After emerging six legged larvae, they can survive around 8–15 days without blood-feeding, as well as sometimes it may be long-lasting. Then for further development, each stage reaches a host by sensing carbon dioxide with the help of the Hallers organ present in the tarsal segment. The length of palps, number of hairs, and shape of Haller's organ are important in the taxonomic study. Then successively proceeds the developmental stages that are 8-legged nymph and adult. This investigation provides morphological and molecular data on the aspects of evolutionary relationship of sibling species. Moreover, Amblyomma geoemydae nymphs were reported for the first time from Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary, Western Ghats, and Kerala.