Rhipicephalus microplus

Rhipicephalus microplus
	female and male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Ixodida
Family:	Ixodidae
Genus:	Rhipicephalus
Subgenus:	Boophilus
Species:	R. microplus
Binomial name
	Rhipicephalus microplus; (Canestrini, 1888)
Synonyms
	Boophilus annulatus australis Lahille, 1905; Boophilus annulatus calcaratus Sharif, 1928; Boophilus annulatus caudatus Lahille, 1905; Boophilus annulatus microdus Arnold, 1935 (misapplied name); Boophilus annulatus microplus Lahille, 1905 ; Boophilus australis Stiles & Hassall, 1901 ; Boophilus caudatus Lahille, 1905 ; Boophilus intraoculatus Minning, 1936 ; Boophilus microplus Lahille, 1905; Boophilus microplus annulatus Floch, 1956 ; Boophilus (Margaropus) annulatus australis Toumanoff, 1944 ; Boophilus (Palpoboophilus) minningi Kishida, 1936 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) caudatus Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) cyclops Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) distans Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) fallax Minning, 1934; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) krijgsmani Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) longiscutatus Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) microplus Minning, 1934; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) rotundiscutatus Minning, 1934 ; Boophilus (Uroboophilus) sharifi Minning, 1934 ; Haemaphysalis micropla Canestrini, 1888; Ixodes australis Ruotsalainen, 1903 (misapplied name); Margaropus annulatus argentinus Castellani & Chalmers, 1910; Margaropus annulatus australis Newstead, 1909; Margaropus annulatus caudatus Neumann, 1911; Margaropus annulatus mexicanus Macias Valadez, 1923 ; Margaropus annulatus microphilus Castellani & Chalmers, 1919; Margaropus annulatus microplus Rohr, 1909 ; Margaropus australis Manson, 1907 ; Margaropus caudatus Castellani & Chalmers, 1910 ; Margaropus microphilus Castellani & Chalmers, 1910 (misapplied name); Margaropus micropla Neumann, 1911 ; Margaropus microplus Hunter & Hooker, 1907 ; Palpoboophilus brachyuris Kishida, 1939; Palpoboophilus minningi Kishida, 1939; Rhipicaphalus annulatus caudatus Neumann, 1897 ; Rhipicaphalus australis Fuller, 1899 ; Rhipicephalus annulatus argentinensis Neumann, 1901 ; Rhipicephalus annulatus argentinus Neumann, 1901 ; Rhipicephalus annulatus australis Neumann, 1901 ; Rhipicephalus annulatus caudatus Neumann, 1901 ; Rhipicephalus annulatus microplus Neumann, 1901; Rhipicephalus annulatus microplus Neumann, 1901 ; Rhipicephalus caudatus Fuller, 1899; Rhipicephalus microplus Canestrini, 1890 ; Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) argentinus Neumann, 1904; Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus; Uroboophilus australis Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus caudatus Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus cyclops Schulze, 1936 ; Uroboophilus distans Schulze, 1935; Uroboophilus fallax Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus indicus Minning, 1936 ; Uroboophilus krijgsmani Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus longiscutatus Kishida, 1939; Uroboophilus microplus Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus occidentalis Minning, 1936 ; Uroboophilus rotundiscutatus Kishida, 1939 ; Uroboophilus sharifi Kishida, 1939; Uroboophilus sinensis Schulze, 1935;

The Asian blue tick (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Rhipicephalus microplus, or Boophilus microplus) is an economically important tick that parasitises a variety of livestock species especially cattle, on which it is the most economically significant ectoparasite in the world. It is known as the Australian cattle tick, southern cattle tick, Cuban tick, Madagascar blue tick, and Puerto Rican Texas fever tick.

It is classified as a hard tick in the family Ixodidae. It is a small teardrop-shaped arachnid with a hardened plate called the scutum covering its head. Males are entirely covered in scutum on their backs with additional plates called festoons along their sides. The body can be brown or pale in nymphs and darkens as the tick matures. Adults have 8 cream-colored legs.

In R. microplus the hypostome has a hexagonal base which can be used as an identifying characteristic. The shape and length of the hypostome is determined by the host a particular tick species or subspecies feeds on. Ticks may be identified by the arrangement of hair-like structures called setae. In R. microplus the setae are arranged in rows of 3 along the ticks body behind the scutum.

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