Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex: Review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to carry out a systematic review in order to analyze available information of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus Complex. METHODS: A bibliographic review was carried out, through a research on public scientific articles databases, between August 2019 and January 2020. Search was filtered for scientific articles published between 2000 and 2020, in the search engines: SCIELO, PubMed and Google Scholar, following the guiding question: Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex? and using the descriptors: Rhipicephalus; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex; Phylogeny Rhipicephalus; Rhipicephalus turanicus, Hemoparasitosis. RESULTS: The genus Rhipicephalus comprises a group called Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex, consisting of 17 species that are morphologically similar and that do not yet have an elucidated taxonomy determination, according to several authors, the tick species in question have their biosystematic state of difficult elucidation, as there are biological and genetic divergences. The present publication review yielded support to the hypotheses that the R. sanguineus taxon in America is, in fact, composed by two different lineages, that is nowadays attributed to the R. sanguineus species, but, as a matter of fact, the taxonomic status of R. sanguineus and R. turanicus in the Old World must be defined prior a possible new classification of the New World lineages of R. saguineus, therefore the Ripichephalus genus ticks in the Americas should all be identified as R. saguineus complex. CONCLUSION: Conclude that the R. sanguineus complex encompasses taxonomic, phylogenetic, morphological and biological differences, making its biosystematic state difficult to clarify.