Diagnoses of and illustrated key to the species of Ixodes Latreille, 1795 (Acari: Ixodidae) from Brazil

The current Brazilian Ixodes fauna is composed of the following eight species: I. amarali Fonseca, 1935; I. aragaoi Fonseca, 1935; I. auritulus Neumann, 1904; I. fuscipes Koch, 1844; I. loricatus Neumann, 1899; I. luciae S,nevet, 1940; I. paranaensis Barros-Battesti, Arzua, Pichorim & Keirans, 2003; and I. schulzei AragA o pound & Fonseca, 1951. Further studies are needed to establish the taxonomic status of I. serrafreirei Amorim, Gazeta, Bossi & Linhares, 2003, a recently proposed species based solely on the nymphal stage. We present an up-to-date key to adults of the currently valid Brazilian species of Ixodes based on scanning electron microscopy. The relationships between Brazilian and other Neotropical Ixodes are also discussed.