Abstract

Three districts viz. Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were surveyed for the collection of Pteropus vampyrus (the Indian flying fox) in Malakand division, the north western region of Pakistan from February to November 2018. A total of 35 specimens were captured. Out of the examined specimens 22 were found to be infected with ectoparasites. Three types of ectoparasites were observed including flies 20% (n=7/35), mites 28.5% (n=10/35) and bugs 14.2% (n=5/35). Male bats were more infected 57.1% (n=20/35) as compared to females 42.8% (n=15/35), however, no significant difference (p>0.05) was noted. Flies were recovered from wings membrane and head region, mites were found on wings, ears and around eyes while bugs were found attached on body surface and neck region. Body weight, circumference and wing span of male bats were greater as compared to female bats and were considered a key factor in clear cut identification of male and female Pteropus vampyrus (the Indian flyingfox). It was concluded that Pteropus vampyrus from north western part of Pakistan were parasitized by a varied parasite fauna with high infestation rates. We assume that in male bats the number of parasites is generally higher than in females. Our results revealed new insights into parasite fauna of Pteropus vampyrus.

Highlights

  • Introduction1230 chiropteran species are found on every continent except Antarctica and inhabit a multitude of diverse ecological niches (Schipper et al, 2008)

  • Bats are among the most successful and diverse mammals on earth

  • This paper describes morphological features and ectoparasite spectrum of Pteropus vampyrus in different parts of Malakand Division, Pakistan

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Summary

Introduction

1230 chiropteran species are found on every continent except Antarctica and inhabit a multitude of diverse ecological niches (Schipper et al, 2008). To estimate and prevent further population declines, research has been primarily focused on bat biology, ecology and behavior, while disease aspects were largely neglected (Wibbelt et al, 2010). Besides bat rabies that has been studied for more than half a century, extensive research efforts identified a large number of microbial agents (Wibbelt et al, 2009) including important emerging zoonotic viruses detected in bats across the world (Halpin et al, 2000; Chua et al, 2002; Leroy et al, 2005; Li et al, 2005; Wong et al, 2007; Towner et al, 2009; Kuzmin et al, 2011). Most studies are limited to the identification of microorganisms detected and investigations regarding infectious diseases and causes of death in bats are sparse (Simpson, 2000; Daffner 2001; Duignan et al, 2003; Hajkova and Pikula, 2007)

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