The definitive descriptions were published in the late 1930s as part of research into the cause of Q fever, by Edward Holbrook Derrick and Macfarlane Burnet in Australia, and Herald Rea Cox and Gordon Davis at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) in the United States.
As descricións definitivas publicáronse a finais da década de 1930 como parte dunhas investigacións sobre a causa da febre Q, feitas por Edward Holbrook Derrick e Macfarlane Burnet en Australia, e Herald Rea Cox e Gordon Davis no Laboratorio das Montañas Rochosas (RML, Rocky Mountain Laboratory) de Estados Unidos.