Museum material of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu Roberts (1965) collected in 1902–1964 from Australia is identical to R. sanguineus sensu lato tropical lineage at the mitochondrial DNA 12S rRNA level

Abstract

Ticks identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) have been recorded in Australia since 1896. It is now recognized that ticks identified as R. sanguineus belong to different lineages. Recently, the so‐called temperate lineage has been redescribed as R. sanguineus sensu stricto with a designated neotype. In Australia, the evidence suggests that only R. sanguineus sensu lato tropical lineage exists. We present a genetic evaluation of R. sanguineus sensu Roberts (1965) from museum material that was evaluated or identified by Roberts. We evaluated 12 museum specimens collected between 1913 and 1964, from various locations around Australia at the molecular level. DNA isolation was successful for 4/12 specimens. All four museum specimens were 100% identical to each other and to the reference R. sanguineus s.l. tropical lineage. Measurements of morphologically significant structures for male and female museum and contemporary tick specimens were obtained. The morphologically significant structures revealed there was no significant difference (ANOVA, P > 0.05) between these groups of male and female ticks. This study updates and supplement the comprehensive descriptions provided by Roberts (1965), which genetically belong to R. sanguineus s.l. tropical lineage.

Geographic Distribution and Seasonality of Brown Dog Tick Lineages in the United States

“…Sequencing additional gene targets would not be expected to shift identification of tick lineage (i.e., R. sanguineus s.s. (temperate), tropical, or southeastern Europe Rhipicephalus sp. I), but such data would support more robust phylogenetic inquiry, particularly within lineages ( Dantas-Torres 2010 , Dantas-Torres et al 2018 , Chandra et al 2021 ). In addition, sequence could not be successfully amplified from ticks from 16 dogs, likely due to nucleic acid degradation prior to submission; data from these infestations may have extended the known distribution and seasonal activity of the different lineages of R. sanguineus s.l.…”

“…comprises multiple tick species with similar morphology inspired subsequent efforts from researchers on several continents to understand the identity and diversity of lineages of Rhipicephalus spp. infesting dogs in a given region ( Szabó et al 2005 , Burlini et al 2010 , Moraes-Filho et al 2011 , Nava et al 2012 , Dantas-Torres et al 2013 , Liu et al 2013 , Dantas-Torres et al 2017 , Hornok et al 2017 , Chitimia-Dobler et al 2017 , Chitimia-Dobler et al 2019 , Chandra et al 2021 , Páez-Triana et al 2021 , Mumcuoglu et al 2022 ). In the United States, at least two lineages of R. sanguineus s.l.…”

“…appear to segregate according to elevation, latitude, and climatic factors ( Zemtsova et al 2016 , Jones et al 2017 , Hornok et al 2017 , Sánchez-Montes et al 2021 , Brophy et al 2022 ). For example, the tropical lineage has been found to persist primarily in areas with a mean average daily temperature >20°C, a limitation often attributed to the poor survivability of fed immature stages in harsher winter conditions ( Zemtsova et al 2016 , Jones et al 2017 , Labruna et al 2017 , Saleh et al 2021 ) and, in warmer countries, tropical may be the only lineage identified ( Jones et al 2017 , Páez-Triana et al 2021 , Chandra et al 2021 ). Accordingly, over 80% of the tropical lineage infestations identified in the present study were found on dogs in the warmest regions of the United States including southern California and southern Nevada, where this lineage has not been previously reported.…”