Checklist of the helminth parasites of South American bats.

Abstract

Although the Chiroptera represents a significant proportion (c.20%) of the mammalian fauna and South America has the highest diversity of bat species, only about a third of the known species in this region have had helminth parasites reported from them. This work represents the first comprehensive checklist of the helminth parasites (nematodes, acanthocephalans, trematodes and cestodes) of South American bats. The data were extracted from more than 120 references and are presented as a key to each group of parasites down to the generic level, with an indication of how the bats become infected, accompanied by a list of the species recorded for each genus. This is followed, in tabular form, by parasite-host and host-parasite checklists. The parasite-host list also includes their geographical distribution in South America (at the country level) and site data, plus the references in which the parasite records occur. The host-parasite list is arranged according to the classification of the hosts. In all, c.370 host-parasite associations are recorded, involving 114 nominal species of helminths from 92 named chiropteran taxa.