Abstract

Morphological abnormalities in ticks seem to be rare phenomena in nature, and are underreported in Africa. In this article, we describe general and local anomalies in two Amblyomma lepidum females and one Rhipicephalus decoloratus female collected from cattle in Moroto and Kasese districts, Uganda. One A. lepidum specimen displayed metagynander gynandromorphism with the presence of both male and female features in the same organism. The second A. lepidum female showed slight asymmetry and lacked a genital aperture. The R. decoloratus displayed multiple anomalies that included asymmetry on the right side in association with ectromely, chitinous formations and constrictions on the left side. This article presents the first report of metagynander gynandromorphism, as well as genital aperture absence which is not linked to gynandromorphism, in A. lepidum collected from cattle.

Keywords

morphological anomaly; tick; cattle; Uganda

Published in

Journal of Medical Entomology
2019, Volume: 56, number: 3, pages: 873-877

SLU Authors

• Malmberg, Maja

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science
Zoology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjy221

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/98276