Walkaround: Brown Dog Tick [pair] (Merial)

Walk-arounds of the male and engorged female of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) by Merial. These figures were produced in conjunction with veterinary supplies and are not made by a major toy/model/figure company.

The brown dog tick is nearly cosmopolitan, where it lives as an ectoparasite primarily of dogs. They are vectors of many pathogens of dogs, but are not efficient vectors of disease in humans (although they have been implicated in outbreaks and clusters of spotted fever rickettsiosis).

The figures are LARGE. I was stunned to see how big there are, but kinda pleasantly so :). The male is 65 mm, making it 16:1 for a 4 mm adult male. The female is 133 mm, making it approximately 9:1 for a large, well-engorged female. The figures are nice, but not as good as the 3B Scientific Ixodes ricinus. The mouthparts are short and festoons are present (not visible in the engorged female, which is a realistic scenario) as they should be. The basis capituli (the part of the head to which the mouthparts attach) is not the correct shape for this species, but not a biggie. The male has eyes, but in an odd place, and the female for some reason lacks eyes. Both figures have spiracular plates and an anus.

I dropped a lot of $$ on these (after losing them previously on my first bid attempt); I was not going to let them get away from me again  C:-).

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These models are really impressive Blaine, but not as much as your knowledge!