Records of three mammal tick species parasitizing an atypical host, the multi-ocellated racerunner lizard, in arid regions of Xinjiang, China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ticks are ectoparasites that feed on blood of a broad taxonomical range of terrestrial and flying vertebrates and are distributed across a wide range of environmental settings. To date, the species identity, diversity, and relationships among the ticks on lizards in China have been poorly understood.

Methods

In this study, 30 ticks, collected from the multi-ocellated racerunner (Eremias multiocellata) lizard in the Tarim Basin and adjacent Yanqi Basin of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, were identified by morphological observation and confirmed by DNA-based techniques. The mitochondrially encoded 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and COI gene fragments of ticks were amplified and sequenced. To understand the genetic polymorphisms, 47 ticks collected from hedgehogs

SUBMITTER: Zhou Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7931338 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature