Ticks of Cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus) and Grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) in Savannas District of Côte-d'Ivoire

During dry season of 2014, some ticks were collected on cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus) and grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus) in sugar complex areas of Savanna District of Côte-d'Ivoire. Two localities were concerned; SUCAF 1 in Ferkessédougou and SUCAF 2 in Komborodougou. The main objective was to inventory tick species that parasite cattle and grasscutters in this region, then, to identify the shared species between these two groups of animals. To this end, ticks were collected from 70 cattle (35 females and 35 males) and 50 grasscutters (30 females and 20 males). Four tick species were found on cattle: Amblyomma variegatum, Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus annulatus and Rhipicephalus microplus. On grasscutters, three species of ticks were found: A. variegatum, Ixodes aulacodi and Rhipicephalus simpsoni. The species A. variegatum dominated cattle infestation and was the only tick present in the two groups of animals. But, only immature forms were found on grasscutters. This later specie was mainly infested by adults R. simpsoni.