Abstract Ticks are very important pests of wildlife, domestic animals, and humans in tropical and subtropical areas. Ticks transmit a number of pathogenic organisms to livestock and humans. This study was carried out to investigate the fauna of hard ticks in domestic animals in Sari suburb. Ticks were collected from 2,356 animals including cattle, goat, and sheep and then preserved in 70% alcohol. They were removed through different grades of ethanol, after dehydration, and fixed with Canada balsam and were examined under binocular for identification of ticks based on diagnostic keys. A total of 2,356 animals (cattle, goat, and sheep) were examined from September 2009 to August 2010 randomly to determine the prevalence of ticks. Among these animals, maximum infection was found in goats (46.16%) followed by cattle (32.49%) and sheep (21.35%). Totally, six species were identified. The most frequent species were Hyalomma marginatus (41.20%) followed by Hyalomma anatolicum (21.35%) and Ixodides ricinus (17.78%). Boophilus annulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa, and Hyalomma asiaticum were less frequent species. The result shows that the maximum number of ticks was collected from udder and testis (38.90%), followed by under the tail (21.33%). The minimum number of ticks was found on the chest (9.80%). The goat and sheep were infested with the maximum numbers of ticks under the tails. A total of 1,068 ticks including 578 males, 393 females, and 97 nymphs were collected from these infested animals. Our results showed that H. marginatus is the main tick species on the infested livestock in the Sari suburb. Consequently, further studies are needed to estimate what economic losses are caused by these species and to establish measures for their control of the ticks.

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