A remarkable assemblage of ticks from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

Four fossil ticks (Arachnida: Parasitiformes: Ixodida) are described from mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar. sp. nov. (Ixodidae) is the first Mesozoic record of and the oldest representative of the most species-rich extant tick genus. Its affinities appear to lie with modern Australian forms, consistent with the hypothesis that Burmese amber hosted Gondwanan faunal elements. Even more remarkable is gen. et sp. nov. which combines a body resembling that of a soft tick (Argasidae) with a basis capitulum more like that of a hard tick (Ixodidae). We refer it to Khimairidae fam. nov. as a possible transitional form between the two main families of ticks alive today. Another member of the extinct Deinocrotonidae is described as sp. nov., while the first described adult female for is associated with a dinosaur feather barb.