The Anatomy of Argas persicus (Oken 1818)

Abstract

The muscular system is so highly developed in the Ixodoidea, that it is no matter of surprise that it has been the subject of more or less detailed treatment in most of the publications dealing with tick anatomy; but, with a single exception, the existing descriptions do not extend beyond a general classification of the various muscles, with the addition of brief remarks, in some instances, on the histological structure of the muscle fibres. In the majority of cases, also, the observations only apply to the Ixodid ticks, and although the general arrangement of the musculature in the two families of the Ixodoidea is not fundamentally different, the comparative anatomy of the muscles offers some difficulty, owing to the great morphological differences which the two families present.