Patterns of Formation of the Fauna of Fleas (Siphonaptera) Parasitizing Mammals in the Stavropol Upland and Adjacent Territories

Abstract

According to the recent data, 55 species of fleas parasitizing 65 species of mammals were recorded in the Stavropol Upland (central Ciscaucasia, Russia). The fauna of the region comprises 87% of the total species composition of Ciscaucasian fleas. Most of these species are widely distributed on the Caucasian Isthmus and also in the Eastern Mediterranean. Of them, 14 species are polyzonal, 14 mostly occur in forest-steppes, 7 in foreststeppes and steppes, 12 in steppes and semi-deserts, and 7 species occur in semi-deserts. According to paleogeographic reconstructions, in the Pliocene the Stavropol Upland was colonized by the flea species from the forest landscapes of Southern Europe and also of Southwest Asia and Asia Minor. Later, in the Pleistocene and Holocene, the Caucasian Isthmus continued to be colonized by mesophilous species from Southern Europe and by semi-desert species from Southern Siberia and the Turanian Province.