Revisiting the genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae)

The tick genus Amblyomma includes approximately 130 species. Among them several species are well-known either because they are pests of domestic animals or because they can transmit diseases to animals and humans. Other species have not been studied as thoroughly. The genus has a typical Gondwana distribution with most species found in the southern hemisphere. We have developed  a number of molecular markers in order to study the evolutionary history of the genus. Its phylogeographical development through time is compared to the hypothesized continental drift pattern in order to understand the present geographical distribution of species. Some of the same markers are also used to match immature and adult stages in a multilocus barcoding approach. In this presentation we will summarize all the new data related to this work.