[1][2] This tick has a worldwide distribution, with common hosts that include horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs.

Heavily infested animals often shake and rub their heads, which can cause their outer ears to become excoriated and raw.

[1][2] Several cases of human infestation have been reported, and the tick has been incriminated in some instances of pathogen transmission.

[1] The nymph is somewhat violin shaped with tiny, backward-projecting spines covering the body, which are the reason for the description spinose in the common name.

[1][2] O. megnini has a single-host lifecycle in which the larvae and nymphs remain deep within the external ear canal of their definitive host for long periods of time.