Morphological and molecular identification of the hard ticks parasitizing Tremarctos ornatus (Carnivora: Ursidae) from paramo of Ecuador

The Andean bear or spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus (Cuvier), inhabits the Andes and is considered an endangered species due to anthropogenic factors. aim of this study was identify tick parasitizing bears in evergreen shrubland paramo grassland ecosystem Mountain Range Ecuador. Twenty-six ticks were removed from five morphologically identified as Amblyomma multipunctum Neumann, Ixodes boliviensis Neumann montoyanus Cooley. One specimen each also molecularly analyzed confirmed by BLAST. This confirms presence I. T. adds new records A. its distribution. parasite-host relationships are all cases for