''Amblyomma cajennense'' or Cayenne tick is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

found in a range from the southern part of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and some of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. As a consequence the species has adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. There are also major geographic barriers such as large rivers and the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountain range. There has been debate over whether ''A. cajennense'' is a single species or whether it is a complex of species. In the 1930s,

Maria Tonelli-Rondelli Maria Tonelli-Rondelli (1899 – 1970) was an Italian entomologist who studied the taxonomy and identification of ticks (Ixodidae), especially South American species. Early life and education She was born in Turin in 1899, the daughter of Alipi ...

proposed that the morphological variation within the species indicated that it was a complex, while in the 1950s this variation was proposed to be due to normal variation between individuals of one species. Molecular biological analyses have indicated that ''A. cajennense'' is a complex of species. A 2014 studySantiago Nava, Lorenza Beati, Marcelo B. Labruna, Abraham G. Cáceres, Atilio J. Mangolda and Alberto A. Guglielmone. 2014. Reassessment of the taxonomic status of ''Amblyomma cajennense'' (Fabricius, 1787) with the description of three new species, ''Amblyomma tonelliae'' n. sp., ''Amblyomma interandinum'' n. sp. and ''Amblyomma patinoi'' n. sp., and reinstatement of ''Amblyomma mixtum'' Koch, 1844, and ''Amblyomma sculptum'' Berlese, 1888 (Ixodida: Ixodidae). ''Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases'', Volume 5, Issue 3, April 2014, pp. 252-276; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.11.004, as accessed 22 Sep 2020. asserts that ''Amblyomma cajennense''

s.s. The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

is found only in the Amazonian region of South America, whereas the species reported from the northern part of the Inter-Andean valley of Peru is '' A. interandinum'', the species present from Texas (U.S.A.) to western Ecuador is '' A. mixtum'', the species that occurs in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia is '' A. patinoi'', the species associated with the dry areas of the Chaco region spanning from central-northern Argentina to Bolivia and Paraguay is '' A. tonelliae'', and the species distributed from the humid areas of northern Argentina to the contiguous regions of Bolivia and Paraguay and the coastal and central-western states of Brazil is '' A. sculptum''.

Clinical significance

''A. cajenennense'' can transmit

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

. It affects humans and their domestic cattle. In August 2009, Brazilian researchers announced that a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

called Factor X active found in the

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...

of the tick proved effective in stopping the growth of certain

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

cells in

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

."Ticks Spit Could Help Fight Cancer" ''redOrbit.com''
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References

Amblyomma Animals described in 1787 Parasites of birds Arachnids of South America {{acari-stub