A genus of inornate hard ticks (family Ixodidae) consisting of about 50 species, all of which are Old World except R. sanguineus. Eyes and festoons are present in both sexes; short palpi and ventral plates are present only in the male. The genus includes important vectors of disease in humans and domestic animals. [G. rhipis, fan, + kephale, head]
- R. sanguineus the brown dog tick, probably the most common and cosmopolitan species found on dogs in the U.S.; it may attack other animals but rarely attacks humans; it is a vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Mexico and is a vector of the rickettsia of boutonneuse fever.
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Rhipi·ceph·a·lus .rip-ə-'sef-ə-ləs n a large and widely distributed genus of ixodid ticks that are parasitic on many mammals and some birds and include vectors of serious diseases (as babesiosis of canines and east coast fever)
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n.
a genus of hard tick widely distributed in the tropics. The dog tick (R. sanguineus) can suck human blood and is commonly involved in the transmission of diseases caused by rickettsiae (see typhus).
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Rhi·pi·ceph·a·lus (ri″pĭ-sefґə-ləs) [Gr. rhipis fan + -cephalus] a genus of ticks of the family Ixodidae, parasitic on many different mammals and serving as vectors for bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and other disease-producing organisms.Medical dictionary. 2011.