Phylogenetic comparison of partial 18S rDNA sequences of piroplasms identified in Hungary (inverse colour), with related sequences from the GenBank. Inverse purple colour indicates sequences amplified from ticks in the present study; yellow and red colour designate formerly and recently identified Theileria isolates from cattle, respectively. The names of piroplasm isolates obtained from ticks in the present study and corresponding lengths of sequences used for the phylogenetic tree are included in Table 1. The sequence of Theileria sp. OT3 obtained in this study was considerably shorter than those of other piroplasms, therefore it was excluded from the phylogenetic analysis. Branch lengths correlate to the number of substitutions inferred according to the scale shown. The isolation source and country/continent for reference sequences are the following: AY726008 (roe deer, Europe), KF470868 (sheep, China), DQ520836 (red deer, Poland), AY260171 (sheep, Sudan), KF429800 (cattle, Iran), AB668373 (cattle, Japan), HM229408 (horse, China), KJ486568 (Haemaphysalis concinna, Russia), KJ756504 (cattle, Hungary), KF791205 (H. parva, Turkey), KJ486563 (H. concinna, Russia), FJ944825 (cattle, France), AY726009 (roe deer, France), LC005775 (Ixodes persulcatus, Mongolia), FJ426361 (cattle, Brazil), AY260179 (sheep, Netherlands), AY533147 (sheep, Spain)