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A review of the ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of Turkey: species diversity, hosts and geographical distribution

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Abstract

Ticks are important ectoparasites, causing a variety of serious infectious diseases in humans and domestic animals. There is very limited taxonomic information about the tick species of Turkey in the literature, even though Turkey has very suitable climate and vegetation for ticks. In the current study, species diversity, hosts and geographical distribution of the ticks present in Turkey are reviewed based on taxonomic data in the literature from 1915 to 2011 and our recent observations. The names of tick species are arranged according to the most recent check lists. The taxonomic records in the literature and our studies on actual tick samples indicated that the tick fauna of Turkey consists of 46 species; 38 species from Ixodidae and 8 species from Argasidae.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Lorenza Beati (Curator) for making United States National Tick Collection (The James H. Oliver, Jr. Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, USA) available to us. We are thankful to Dr. Dmitry Apanaskevich for his assistance with identification of some species and Maria Apanaskevich for her help in Russian translations. This study is partially supported by The Council of Higher Education and a grant (TBAG 105T457) from The Scientific & Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey.

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  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Art, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tasliciftlik, 60250, Tokat, Turkey

    Ahmet Bursali, Adem Keskin & Saban Tekin

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  1. Ahmet Bursali
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Correspondence to Ahmet Bursali.

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Bursali, A., Keskin, A. & Tekin, S. A review of the ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of Turkey: species diversity, hosts and geographical distribution. Exp Appl Acarol 57, 91–104 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-012-9530-4

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