A survey for tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestation on some wild mammals and the first record of Ixodes trianguliceps Birula in Turkey

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are one of the most important ectoparasites of many kinds of terrestrial vertebrates. Between September 2019 and June 2021, we captured a total of 99 wild mammals belonging to 22 species, 14 genera, nine families, and four orders in order to investigate the presence of tick infestations from 14 different locations of 10 provinces in Turkey. Overall, 351 ticks (181 larvae, 156 nymphs, 6 females, and 8 males) were collected from 46 out of 99 wild mammalian species. Ticks were identified as Haemaphysalis erinacei Pavesi (5 males), Haemaphysalis parva Neumann (3 nymphs), Hyalomma marginatum gr. (16 nymphs), Ixodes kaiseri Arthur (1 nymph), Ixodes redikorzevi Olenev (167 larvae, 128 nymphs, and 2 females), Ixodes ricinus (L.) (12 larvae, 1 nymph, and 1 male), Ixodes trianguliceps Birula (2 larvae, and 4 nymphs), and Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantzev (3 nymphs, 4 females, and 2 males). Of which, I. trianguliceps was reported in Turkey for the first time. Furthermore, we reported many new tick-host associations for Turkey.

Automated summary

This study investigated tick infestations on wild mammals in different locations of Turkey, identifying various tick species and host associations, thus enriching the understanding of tick ecology in Turkey.