Ixodidae ticks in cattle and sheep in Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Iran)

This survey was conducted to investigate the presence and abundance of hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) on cattle and sheep in Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Iran). Between 2010 and 2011, a total of 1,403 ticks was collected from 332 infested cattle and 1,480 ticks were collected from 602 infested sheep during the seasons of tick activity. The species collected from cattle were Hyalomma marginatum (46.04%), Hyalomma excavatum (25.51%), Hyalomma anatolicum (10.33%), Hyalomma asiaticum (6.34%), and ticks of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus group (11.76%); while the species collected from sheep were of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus group (34.66%), H. marginatum (25.60%), H. excavatum (27.97%), H. asiaticum (9.45%) and Hyalomma scupense (2.29%). The results show that H. marginatum, H. excavatum, as well as ticks of the R. sanguineus group are dominant in the surveyed area.