Cattle-fever
Guides
Rhipicephalus
brown ticks, pepper ticks
Rhipicephalus is a genus of hard ticks (Ixodidae) comprising approximately 90 species, commonly known as brown ticks. The genus is cosmopolitan but most diverse in tropical Africa. Several species are significant vectors of human and animal pathogens, including agents causing East Coast fever, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and rickettsial diseases. The subgenus Boophilus, formerly treated as a separate genus, contains economically important cattle fever ticks. Identification is often difficult due to morphological similarity among species and intraspecific variation, particularly in females and immature stages.