There are two organisms in this photo… who can tell me what the small round scaly things are?
And for bonus points, whats the other organism in the photo?
Mystery organism photo of the month – November Nov 13
2 Comments
2 Comments Leave a comment
-
-
Hilary Miller 256 days ago
Correct! Amblyoma sphenodonti, an ixodid tick specifc to tuatara. Like its host, its quite genetically divergent from its closest relatives. It also has a much more restricted distribution than tuatara – being found in only around 8 (out of 30-odd) tuatara populations.
Just a guess – ticks or mites of some kind?
On a reptile (maybe a tuatara)?