Evaluation of the species diversity and abundance of hard ticks (Family: Ixodidae) parasite of cattle and sheep in Mazandaran province

The purpose of this study is evaluating the species diversity and abundance of hard ticks in cattle and sheep in Mazandaran province. For this purpose، four zones (cities) (Noor، Amol، Babol and Sari) were selected in the province and samplings were carried out monthly for a period of one year. Overall 2712 pieces of hard ticks have been collected from animal body surface، which includes 13 species. These species and abundance of each include: Rhipicephalus annulatus (35. 77%)، Rhipicephalus bursa (27. 58%)، Rhipicephalus turanicus (4. 94 %)، Rhipicephalus sanguinus (0. 55%)، Ixodes ricinus (18. 95%)، Haemaphysalis punctata (6. 27%)، Haemaphysalis sulcata (1. 47%)، Haemaphysalis inermis (1%)، Haemaphysalis concinna (0. 55%)، Hyalomma marginatum (0. 37%)، Hyalomma deteritum (1. 99%)، Hyalomma anatolicum (0. 26%) and Dermacentor marginatum with (0. 3%). The results show that hard tick species diversity is high in Mazandaran province.