Professor and Department Head Texas A&M University College Station, Texas
The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, is cosmopolitan in distribution and has long been thought to be a species complex. Studies in recent years have shown though mating experiments and modern molecular tools that this species complex is highly likely to be composed of at least two, but more likely four and possibly as many as sixteen species, distributed around the world. Given the role of this tick in canine and human pathogen transmission, including the ticks documented role in transmission of a highly pathogenic Rickettsia rickettsii strain in the Southwestern U.S. and Northwestern Mexico, the importance of this tick has been elevated and it is now considered of One Health concern. Current studies on this tick will be highlighted and insights on tick phylogeny using acaricide resistance and other tools in teasing apart this species complex will be presented.
