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Experimental life-cycle studies of Raillietiella gehyrae Bovien, 1927 and Raillietiella frenatus Ali, Riley and Self, 1981: pentastomid parasites of geckos utilizing insects as intermediate hosts


Citation

Ali, J. H. and Riley, J. (1983) Experimental life-cycle studies of Raillietiella gehyrae Bovien, 1927 and Raillietiella frenatus Ali, Riley and Self, 1981: pentastomid parasites of geckos utilizing insects as intermediate hosts. Parasitology, 86 (1). pp. 147-160. ISSN 0031-1820; ESSN: 1469-8161

Abstract

The life-cycles of two closely related cephalobaenid pentastomids, Raillietiella gehyrae and Raillietiella frenatus, which utilize geckos as definitive hosts and cockroaches as intermediate hosts, have been investigated in detail. Early development in the fat-body of cockroaches involves 2 moults to an infective, 3rd-stage larva which appears from 42–44 days post-infection. Complete development in geckos involves a further 5 moults in the case of males and 6 for females. Males mature precociously and copulation is a once-in-a-lifetime event which occurs around day 80 post-infection when both sexes are the same size but the uterus of the female is undeveloped. Sperm, stored in the spermathecae, is used to fertilize oocytes which slowly accumulate in the developing saccate uterus. Patency commences when the uterus carries approximately 4000–5500 eggs but only 25–36 % of these contain fully developed primary larvae. Since only mature eggs are deposited, we postulate that the vagina (?) of the female must be equipped with a selective filter that allows through large eggs but retains smaller, immature eggs. Thus the only limit on fecundity is the total number of sperms in the spermathecae and this is precisely the same factor that constrains egg production in the advanced order Porocephalida.


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Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Universiti Pertanian Malaysia
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Depositing User: Mohd Hafiz Che Mahasan
Date Deposited: 15 Apr 2015 05:02
Last Modified: 15 Apr 2015 05:02
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34014
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