Species Diversity of Ixodid Ticks (Ixodidae) in the Rostov Region

Ixodid ticks were collected from cattle in spring-summer of 2021 and 2022 in the central (Zimovnikovsky District) and north-eastern part (Morozovsky District) of the Rostov Region. Three species of ixodid ticks were identified in the Morozovsky District, and 7 species and 1 subspecies belonging to two genera, Rhipicephalus and Нyalomma, were identified in the Zimovnikovsky District. Three species of threehost pasture ticks were identified as the genus Rhipicephalus, namely, R. rossicus, R. sanguineus and R. pumilio, and four species of ixodids as the genus Hyalomma, namely, one-host H. scupense, two-host H. plumbeum and H. detritum, and threehost H. asiaticum, as well as subspecies H. plumbeum plumbeum. In the central part of the Rostov Region, the pasture tick R. rossicus predominated in number. The subdominant species were H. plumbeum and R. sanguineus. The species recorded as small in numbers were R. pumilio, H. asiaticum H. detritum, and H. scupense, as well as subspecies H. plumbeum plumbeum. R. rossicus dominated in numbers in the north-eastern part of the Region as in the Zimovnikovsky District. The species H. scupense occupied a subdominant position, and R. sanguineus was recorded as small in numbers.