Dikeledi Matloa

University of South Africa | unisa · Department of Agriculture and Animal Health

Distinct life stages may experience different selection pressures influencing phenotypic evolution. Morphological evolution is also constrained by early phenotypes, since early development forms the phenotypic basis of later development. This work investigates evolutionary-developmental modification in three life stages and both sexes of 24 Rhipice...

Rhipicephalus are a species-diverse genus of ticks, mainly distributed in the Afrotropics with some species in the Palearctic and Oriental regions. Current taxonomic consensus comprise nine informal species groups/lineages based on immature morphology. This work integrates biogeographic, ecological and molecular lines of evidence to better understa...

Rhipicephalus turanicus ticks are widely distributed across the Palearctic and Afrotropics. These two continental populations display differences in morphological characters that raise the question of a potential species boundary. However, the taxonomic status of these morphologically divergent lineages is uncertain because R. turanicus from Cyprus...

A two day tick identification course presnted to 10 students and researchers at the University of the Free State. The course covered general principles of taxonomy and morphology as applied to tick identification, as well as a specific focus on separating vector and non-vector species of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and other economically impor...