Rhipicephalus annulatus

Rhipicephalus annulatus, the cattle tick, is a hard-bodied tick of the genus Rhipicephalus. It is also known as North American cattle tick, North American Texas fever tick, and Texas fever tick.

Distribution
It shows a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is found in Eritrea, Albania, Algeria, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guinea, India, Israel, Jordan, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Description
The adult has a hexagonally shaped scutum. The male has adanal shields and accessory shields. The anal groove is not distinguishable or absent entirely in the female, and minute in the male.

Parasitism
It is an obligate ectoparasite of domestic mammals such as cattle, horse, sheep, dog. It is a potential vector of many babesiosis pathogens like Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis, and Anaplasma marginale. Its ability to be a vector of babesiosis pathogens was discovered by Theobald Smith and Frederick L. Kilbourne.

Lifecycle
It shows a one-host lifecycle, where all larva, nymphs and adults live in one host. After eggs hatch, larva crawl up vegetation and may be blown away by wind. After they stick on to a host, larvae are found on softer parts of the host's body. They become nymphs and then adults after successive molts on the body of the host. After attaining sexual maturity and copulating, the female detaches from the host and lays eggs on vegetation. The female dies after ovipositing.

Control
Babesiasis is one of the major cattle devastating diseases throughout the world. It reduce the meat production, and dairy products as well. Quarantine is the major method of controlling ticks. Sanitation and frequent check for ticks also taken place. Preparations of Nigella sativa are a good method to control ticks.