Chilton N B, Bull C M
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Int J Parasitol. 1991 Dec;21(8):907-11. doi: 10.1016/0020-7519(91)90165-4.
In comparisons of females of two reptile tick species Aponomma hydrosauri and Amblyomma limbatum, Ap. hydrosauri was initially larger, and after mating on the host engorged faster and remained attached for a shorter time before completing engorgement and detaching. Amb. limbatum had a longer period of engorgement, and achieved a greater engorged weight. Engorged Amb. limbatum females laid significantly more eggs than equivalent sized Ap. hydrosauri. Although the two species are ecologically similar and were collected from the same site for this study, their reproductive differences probably reflect adaptations to different conditions in their largely allopatric ranges.
在对两种爬行类蜱虫——水龙硬蜱（Aponomma hydrosauri）和缘斑硬蜱（Amblyomma limbatum）的雌性个体进行比较时，水龙硬蜱最初体型更大，在宿主身上交配后饱血速度更快，在饱血并脱落前附着的时间更短。缘斑硬蜱的饱血期更长，饱血后的体重增加更多。饱血后的缘斑硬蜱雌蜱产卵量显著多于同等大小的水龙硬蜱。尽管这两个物种在生态上相似，且本研究是在同一地点采集的，但它们的生殖差异可能反映了在其大致异域分布范围内对不同条件的适应。
