Rhipicentor is an African genus of hard ticks.Nuttall, G.H.F, & Warburton, C. (1908). On a new genus of Ixodoidea together with a description of eleven new species of ticks. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 14, 392-416. The genus parasitises a range of domestic and sylvatic Carnivora and Mammalia hosts. The genus forms part of the Rhipicephalinae subfamily, along with Dermacentor, Margaropus, Rhipicephalus, Hyalomma and Nosomma. There are no records of Rhipicentor human parasitism, but R. nuttalli can cause tick paralysis in dogs.
Rhipicentor forms part of the Rhipicephalinae subfamily, in the broader Amblyocephalus clade of the Ixodidae.
Species Rhipicentor bicornis Nuttall & Warburton, 1908 Rhipicentor nuttalli Cooper, Cantab & Robinson, 1908Cooper, W., Cantab, B., & Robinson, L. (1908). On six new species of ixodidae, including a second species of the new genus rhipicentor N and W. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 14, 457–470.
Etymology The name "Rhipicentor" is a portmanteau. In their description of the genus, Nuttall and Warburton commented that Rhipicentor ticks resemble Rhipicephalus dorsally, and Dermacentor ventrally, inspiring the name.
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