Department of Arbovirology, Emerging and Reemrging Infections, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Biosecurity (COVAB), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
J Med Entomol. 2019 Apr 16;56(3):873-877. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjy221.
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.
蜱虫的形态异常似乎在自然界中较为罕见，在非洲的报道也较少。本文描述了在乌干达莫罗托和卡塞塞地区从牛身上采集的两只硬蜱属（Amblyomma lepidum）雌性和一只璃眼蜱属（Rhipicephalus decoloratus）雌性的一般和局部异常。一只硬蜱属标本表现出雌雄同体的雌雄嵌合体现象，即同一个生物体同时具有雄性和雌性特征。第二只硬蜱属雌性表现出轻微的不对称，并且没有生殖孔。璃眼蜱属表现出多种异常，包括右侧不对称，伴有外生、左侧几丁质形成和收缩。本文首次报道了在牛身上采集的硬蜱属雌雄同体现象，以及与雌雄嵌合体无关的生殖孔缺失。
