The ultrastructure of somatic neuromuscular junctions in the tick Amblyomma variegatum (Fabr.)

Peripheral nerve axons synapse with somatic muscle fibres in the tropical bont tick Amblyomma variegatum. Each fibre is innervated by numerous terminals; some of the axons synapse more than once. The nerve terminals on coxal muscle fibres contain agranular electron lucent vesicles 50 to 58 nm in size and have the specialised synaptic membranes characteristic of chemically transmitting nerve-muscle junctions. Some of the terminals on trochanteral muscle fibres additionally contain larger vesicles (90 nm) with electron dense cores, suggesting that these junctions operate with a different kind of neurotransmitter.