Rhipicephalus spp. from Mexico and Saudi Arabia (2024)

The Brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus linnaei, distributed across the Americas, was formerly known as the "tropical lineage." It is part of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species complex, referred to as R. sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.). This study sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of R. linnaei (approx.. 15 kb) from Mexican dogs, finding approx. 90% similarity to R. sanguineus sensu stricto and >99% to R. linnaei neotype. Additionally, mitogenomes of R. linnaei and R. turanicus from Saudi Arabian dogs were described. This research provides a molecular reference for American R. linnaei, supporting its use even when only partial mitochondrial genes are characterized.