Abstract
Abstract Species richness and abundance of hosts and parasites are often not perfectly correlated. This may be caused by higher parasite than host extinction rates or population declines, but lower parasite discovery effort has also been suggested. The Mexican free‐tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis is one of the most common and widespread vertebrates in the Americas and host to the ectoparasite Primicimex cavernis, for which only 14 literature records from six sites worldwide exist. Here, we confirm a much smaller parasite than host range. Two dedicated field trips revealed two new P. cavernis sites. In Texas, we found 87% out of eight sites negative for P. cavernis. However, this more likely reflects rarity than low discovery effort, because in one large population (>1000 individuals) in Sonora, putatively negative records occurred at only 31% of 16 sampling dates. Currently, live individuals of P. cavernis are known from only one cave in the United States and one in Mexico. Protecting these existing sites is necessary to preserve this charismatic animal but it should not release us from aiming to discover new sites.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
