| Abstract: | Morphological inversions during the ontogenesis of the ixodid ticks consist in the deranges of species-specific tendencies in the development of some external structures by the female line. The inversions, which included a wide range of organs and their fine structures, have been described for the first time in 14 species of 4 from 7 Palearctic ixodid genera. Emphasis is placed on the study of the structures, which serve as differential characters for closely related species. It is shown, that the using of the structures subjected to inversions is unavoidable in systematics because of the great similarity of closely related species, especially in immature stages. It is established by the data on the variability of all active stages in the species distribution ranges, that the degree of the inversions manifestation may somewhat fluctuate in different subspecies or geographic morphotypes of the same species, but the peculiarity of the inversions always remains a species-specific character. The cause of inversions origin is the evolution of the Ixodidae by the way of morpho-ecological specialization, namely hypertrophic, giantism, the growth of teguments in the period of nutrition act by pasture ambushing, which led to the derange of the development coordination of the organs during ontogenesis. Biological implication of the inversions is a guarantee of the adaptive potential of species during the process of microevolution. Even though the inversions make identification of closely related species difficult, their substantial importance is that they form integral species-specific character for the whole active part of the species ontogenesis. |
