GENETIC-MARKERS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF 2 TICK SPECIES, AMBLYOMMA-DISSIMILE AND AMBLYOMMA-ROTUNDATUM

Genetic markers are described for 2 species of reptile and amphibian t icks, Amblyomma dissimile and Amblyomma rotundatum, by allozyme electr ophoresis. Fixed allelic differences in 4 out of the 8 examined loci a llowed the unequivocal separation of both of these species. A strong c orrelation was found between these genetic markers and the relative si ze of the spurs in coxae IV but not with the punctuation pattern of th e scutum. Moreover, no overlap was found in the distribution of relati ve spur sizes between samples of both species. The percent polymorphic loci and the mean percent heterozygosity per locus for A. rotundatum was considerably lower than that for A. dissimile. Differences in the amount of genetic variability may be related to their modes of reprodu ction.