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Background  Phylogeographical studies allow precise genetic comparison of specimens, which were collected over large geographical ranges and belong to the same or closely related animal species. These methods have also been used to compare ticks of veterinary-medical importance. However, relevant data are missing in the case of ixodid ticks of bats, despite (1) the vast geographical range of both  Ixodes vespertilionis  and  Ixodes simplex , and (2) the considerable uncertainty in their taxonomy, which is currently unresolvable by morphological clues.    Methods  In the present study 21 ticks were selected from collections or were freshly removed from bats or cave walls in six European and four Asian countries. The DNA was extracted and PCRs were performed to amplify part of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI), 16S and 12S rDNA genes, followed by sequencing for identification and molecular-phylogenetic comparison.    Results  No morphological differences were observed between  Ixodes vespertilionis  specimens from Spain and from other parts of Europe, but corresponding genotypes had only 94.6 % COI sequence identity. An  I. vespertilionis  specimen collected in Vietnam was different both morphologically and genetically (i.e. with only 84.1 % COI sequence identity in comparison with  I. vespertilionis  from Europe). Two ticks (collected in Vietnam and in Japan) formed a monophyletic clade and shared morphological features with  I. ariadnae , recently described and hitherto only reported in Europe. In addition, two Asiatic specimens of  I. simplex  were shown to differ markedly from European genotypes of the same species. Phylogenetic relationships of ticks showed similar clustering patterns with those of their associated bat host species.    Conclusions  Although all three ixodid bat tick species evaluated in the present study appear to be widespread in Eurasia, they exhibit pronounced genetic differences. Data of this study also reflect that  I. vespertilionis  may represent a species complex.

High degree of mitochondrial gene heterogeneity in the bat tick species Ixodes vespertilionis, I. ariadnae and I. simplex from Eurasia