Abstract
This research aimed to determine the parasitic helminth fauna of Phyllostomid bats from Junin, Peru, as well as to prepare an updated check list of records made in Peru. Thirty bats of 6 different species belonging to the family Phyllostomidae were captured in Chanchamayo, Junin, Peru. Regarding these species, Artibeus lituratus Olfers, 1818, A. planirostris (Spix, 1823) and Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) were parasitized by trematodes, Phyllostomus discolor (Wagner, 1843) by cestodes and A. lituratus, A. planirostris, Carollia benkeithi Solari & Baker, 2006, C. perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina Pallas, 1766 and P. discolor by nematodes. The mean abundance of infection was greater for the trematodes with 175 specimens, followed by the nematodes with 115 specimens. Twenty-six parasitic species were found in the literature in the checklist developed in this study. Litomosoides brasiliensis Almeida, 1936 was the endoparasite with the highest number of hosts, and the number of hosts with at least one parasitic occurrence is 23 bat species in the checklist. All the parasites mentioned in the paper are new records for the department of Junin, Peru.
Highlights
Chiroptera are important for their great terrestrial diversity, and for playing ecological roles as prey and predator, arthropod suppression, soil fertility and nutrient distribution, and recycling (Jones et al, 2003; Wund & Myers, 2005; Kasso & Balakrishnan, 2013; Mello et al, 2015; De Albuquerque et al, 2016)
Thirty specimens of bats belonging to the Phyllostomidae family were captured: one individual from Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818), 4 individuals of Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823), 1 individual of Carollia benkeithi Solari & Baker 2006, 20 individuals of Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758), 2 individuals of Glossophaga soricina (Pallas, 1766) and 2 individuals of Phyllostomus discolor (Wagner, 1843)
In the evaluation of the bats from Junin, conducted in this study, it has been observed that 5 out of 6 species of bats evaluated were parasitized by the nematode L. brasiliensis, which registers a wide range of hosts only in South America (Santos & Gibson, 2015)
Summary
Chiroptera are important for their great terrestrial diversity, and for playing ecological roles as prey and predator, arthropod suppression, soil fertility and nutrient distribution, and recycling (Jones et al, 2003; Wund & Myers, 2005; Kasso & Balakrishnan, 2013; Mello et al, 2015; De Albuquerque et al, 2016). Parasitic helminths of Chiroptera can be associated with intrinsic factors (age, body size, gender, individual genetic aspects, immune response, foraging strategy and nutritional status) and extrinsic factors (social structure, behavior patterns, distribution areas, activity areas, migration and evolutionary history) of the hosts and their habitats (Esteban et al, 1991; Poulin & Morand, 2004; Pinheiro et al, 2013; De Albuquerque et al, (2016). Among these studies it has been observed that bats can act as definitive hosts (e.g. Vampirolepis) and intermediaries (e.g. Physocephalus L3) for parasitic helminths. Among these studies it has been observed that bats can act as definitive hosts (e.g. Vampirolepis) and intermediaries (e.g. Physocephalus L3) for parasitic helminths. (Walldorf & Mehlhorn, 2014; Falconaro et al, 2018)
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