DISPERSAL OF HARD TICKS (ACARI, IXODIDAE) ON SHEEP OVIS ARIES LINNAEUS, 1758 IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF IRAQ

Abstract

A total of 400 hard tick specimens (250 ♂♂, 150 ♀♀) were collected from 160 sheep Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758 out of 200 samples examined in the different localities of Iraq, representing an infestation rate of 80% of the sheep. The results of the current research identified eight species of hard ticks belonging to two genera, Hyalomma C. L. Koch, 1844 and Rhipicephalus Koch,1844 and belonging to the Ixodidae family, as follows: Hyalomma anatolicum Koch, 1844, H. excavatum Koch, 1844, H. impeltatum Schulze & Schlottke, 1930, H. scupense Schulze, 1919, Rhipicephalus bursa Canastrini & Fanzago, 1878, R. camicasi Morel, Mouchet & Rodhain, 1976, R. sanguineus Latreille, 1806, and R. turanicus Pomerantsev, 1936. Molecular analysis and gene sequencing were conducted to confirm the species Rhipicephalus camicasi, using two genes, 12S ribosomal RNAs (PV155242.1, PV155243.1) and cox1 (PV139200.1, PV139201.1). The current study concluded that sheep are a new host for R. camicasi in Iraq.