A six-legged anomalous Dermacentor niveus (Acari: Ixodidae) female tick from a camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Uzbekistan

Mechouk, Noureddine; Safarov, Alisher; Kunisov, Baurjan; Sazmand, Alireza; Deak, Georgiana

doi:10.22073/pja.v14i2.86888

A six-legged anomalous Dermacentor niveus (Acari: Ixodidae) female tick from a camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Uzbekistan

Authors

Noureddine Mechouk ¹

Alisher Safarov ²

Baurjan Kunisov ³

Alireza Sazmand ⁴

Georgiana Deak ⁵

¹ Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372, Cluj Napoca, Romania

² State Committee of Veterinary and Livestock Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

³ Nukus branch of Samarkand State University of Veterinary Medicine, Livestock and Biotechnology, Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.

⁴ Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

⁵ University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca

10.22073/pja.v14i2.86888

Abstract

Uzbekistan hosts a diverse tick fauna comprising 30 species from the families Ixodidae and Argasidae. While tick morphology is generally well-documented, rare anomalies such as ectromely have been observed in natural populations. This study reports an abnormal malformation in a tick collected from a camel in Uzbekistan. One morphologically anomalous tick was collected from a camel in Navoiy, Uzbekistan, and submitted for morphological identification. The specimen was identified as an adult female Dermacentor niveus, displaying a morphological anomaly characterized by ectromely. This case highlights a rare occurrence of ectromely in D. niveus and underscores the need for larger studies to assess the prevalence of such anomalies and their potential role in pathogen transmission. Understanding these abnormalities could enhance tick surveillance and contribute to public health strategies. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an anomaly in D. niveus .

Keywords

Camelus dromedaries

Ectromely

Morphological anomaly

Pathogen transmission

Tick surveillance