This lifeform is generally found west of the Continental Divide in North America

Wood Tick family (Ixodidae) is one of the two families called "hard ticks". (The other family is called Nutalliellidae). The "hard ticks" can be identified by the hard plate on the top side of the tick. Although as of l997, this group of ticks was not known to carry Lyme Disease, this family does carry other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Fever. Some of the common United States species are as follows:

Dermacentor andersoni      NW USA        Rky. Mnt. Spotted Fever Tick
Dermacentor albipictus     NY - Texas    Winter Horse Tick
Dermacentor halli
Dermacentor hunteri
Dermacentor occidentalis   Calif.        Pacific Tick
Dermacentor parumapertus
Dermacentor variabilis     E of Rockies  American Dog Tick

Ticks and Mites (Order Acarina) are a large order that has considerable economic importance to man. There are probably more than 30,000 species in this order. Included are several tick species that are known for transmitting serious diseases such as Rocky Mountain Fever and Lime Disease.

Arachnid (Class Arachnidae) consists of nine to eleven different surviving orders depending upon how one divides the Arachnid class. In total, there are about 60,000 to perhaps 75,000 species grouped in the following eleven orders:

              Order                     Number of Species

  Acarina-Mites and Ticks                    30,000
  Amblypygi-Tailless Whipscorpions               60
  Araneae-Spiders                            35,000
  Palpigrada-Micro Whipscorpions                 50
  Ricinulei or Podogona-Ricinulids               20
  Pseudoscorpionida-False Scorpions           1,000
  Schizomida-Short Tailed Whipscorpions         --
  Scorpionida-Scorpions                       2,000
  Solpugida-Sun Spiders, Windscorpions        1,000
  Phalangida-Daddy Long Legs                  2,200
  Uropygi-Whipscorpions                          70

The old order, Pedipalpida (Whipscorpions), has been divided into the following orders:

        Uropygi (Whipscorpions)
        Ambylypygi (Tailless Whipscorpions
        Schizomida (Short Tailed Whipscorpions))

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.