Species diversity and spatial distribution of ixodid ticks on small ruminants in Greece

A cross sectional field study on the distribution of Ixodidae ticks was carried out over two consecutive tick seasons (2012 and 2013) in small ruminants (309 farms) located in mainland and five islands of Greece. A total of 2108 ticks (1199 females, 908 males, and 1 nymph) were collected from sheep and goats. Two species of Rhipicephalus, two of Ixodes, five of Hyalomma, three of Haemaphysalis, and one of Dermacentor were detected. The species with the widest distribution were Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (64.8 %), R. bursa (25.9 %), and Dermacentor marginatus (4.1 %), whereas the least frequently collected species were Ixodes ricinus, I. gibbosus, Haemaphysalis parva, H. sulcata, H. punctata, Hyalomma marginatum, H. excavatum, H. dromedarii, H. rufipes, and H. impeltatum representing together less than 5.3 % of the collections. R. sanguineus s.l. was the predominant species, while D. marginatus and I. gibbosus were restricted to the northeastern Aegean Sea islands. This is the first survey on tick fauna from mainland and islands in Greece.