n. a member of the Ixodidae, a family of ticks having a hard shield on the back and mouth parts that project from the head.
Syn. -- hard tick. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. A natural family of ticks having a hard shield on the back and mouth parts that project from the head; the hard ticks.
Syn. -- family Ixodidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]