Parasitism by Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with blefaritis on a red-footed tortoise () in Rio de Janeiro state - case report.

is a tick species commonly found on reptiles and amphibians. In Brazil, investigations of this ectoparasite have indicated its distribution across all Brazilian biomes, although it is concentrated in certain locations. In this context, the objective of the present study was to describe a case of parasitism by in a red-footed tortoise () in the state of Rio de Janeiro. A female red-footed tortoise (), seized by the environmental police, was parasitized by a tick in the left periocular region. The tick was manually removed, preserved in 70º GL ethanol, and sent for identification at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). Based on the morphological evaluation Dantas-Torres et al. (2019), Barros-Battesti et al. (2006) and Lampo et al. (1997), a diagnosis of a female specimen of was made. In conclusion, this study reports the first case of parasitizing in the state of Rio de Janeiro, highlighting the presence of periocular blepharitis associated with this parasitism.