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Scanning electron microscopy and comparative morphology of argasid larvae (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae) infesting birds in Egypt

Abdel-Shafy, S.


2005 - Volume: 45 Issue: 1 pages: 3-12


Keywords

Argas arboreus A. persicus A. hermanni chaetotaxy larva scanning electron microscopy morphology

Abstract

The differentiation between Argas larvae: A. persicus, A. arboreus and A. hermanni infesting birds in Egypt was studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy and morphometric analysis. Results show that larval A. persicus, A. arboreus and A. hermanni carry 26, 27 or 28, and 23 pairs of dorsal setae, respectively. A. arboreus differs from A. persicus by the presence of two pairs of additional median setae. A. hermanni differs by the presence of an additional pair of dorsolateral setae and absent of anterosubmedian setae. Body setae of A. arboreus and A. hermanni longer than in A. persicus. Length and width of body were equal in A. persicus and A. arboreus but smaller in A. hermanni. Dorsal plate displayed very distinct bulging cells in A. hermanni, shallow cells in A. arboreus and slightly bulging wrinkles in A. persicus. This plate is longest in A. hermanni than others. Dental formulae of hypostome were 3/3, 3/3, and 4/4 in A. persicus, A. arboreus and A. hermanni, respectively. The numbers of denticles were 7/6/2, 8/8/3 and 10/9/3/2 in A. persicus, A. arboreus and A. hermanni, respectively. The corona of hypostome was bluntly rounded in A. persicus, slightly rounded in A. arboreus and distinctly rounded in A. hermanni. Hypostomal length of A. hermanni and A. arboreus were equal and larger than that of A. persicus. Palps were the longest in A. arboreus followed by A. persicus and A. hermanni. Chaetotaxy of palps was similar in all three species. Distances between posthypostomal setae (Phl and Ph2) were longer in A. persicus and A. arboreus than in A. hermanni.

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Article editorial history
Date accepted:
2004-12
Date published:
2005-06-30

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
2005 Abdel-Shafy, S.
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