Nuttalliella is genus of tick. It contains a single living species, Nuttalliella namaqua found in southern Africa, having been reported from Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa.[1] The genus is placed in its own family, Nuttalliellidae.[2] It can be distinguished from ixodid ticks and argasid ticks by a combination of characteristics including the position of the stigmata, lack of setae, strongly corrugated integument, and form of the fenestrated plates.[3] It is the most basal lineage of living ticks.[4]
The first description by G.A.H. Bedford in 1931 was based upon a single female collected under a stone at Kamieskroon, in Little Namaqualand, by Dr R.F. Lawrence in October 1930.[5] The genus and family were named for the bacteriologist George Nuttall, a specialist in diseases transmitted by ticks. The species was recognised as distinctive enough to warrant its own family in two publications in 1935 and 1936.[6] As of 1980, only eighteen specimens had been collected. In a 2011 study, that number was increased to fifty-one total specimens. They were collected in three locations in South Africa including two new sites: Springbok, Graaff-Reinet, and Heuningvleipan.
In 2024, 5 fossil species of the genus were described from Burmese amber in Myanmar, dating to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 million years ago. In this study, it was suggested that the extinct genera Deinocroton and Legionaris also known from Burmese amber should also be included in Nuttalliellidae.
Nuttalliella namaqua has been observed in Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. Localities of collection include coastal (west and south) and inland sites (north). The Namibia specimens were collected from museum mammal skins in Kuboes. The biomes represented by these locations are: mixed tree and shrub savannah, Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo.
N. namaqua is believed to be a generalist when choosing a host.[7] N. namaqua has been collected from mammals, reptiles and birds' nests. Genetic sequencing of blood found in N. namaqua show a wide diversity of lizard hosts.