the dominant hard tick in tortoises found in different regions of Albania.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the level of hard tick infestation in the tortoise subspecies living within the free-range hills and mountains of four regions of central and south Albania. In addition, this study showed the morphological differences of infested and non-infested tortoises in several geographic locations where tortoises are known to be infested with , a natural carrier of different zoonotic pathogens. Thirty-six of 145 (24.