Abstract
Ectoparasites of bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), with a description of three species of of which two belong to order Mesostigmata (family: Ameroseiidae and Macronyssidae) and one belong to order Ixodida (family: Ixodidae), from northeastern India are discussed. The present study was carried out for six months (January–June 2014) to identify the various ectoparasites of the Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx in Cachar District of Assam, northeastern India. A total of 12 individuals of C. sphinx was captured using mist nets from eight different localities of the study area. During the study, a total of 125 parasites was collected from C. sphinx. The identified parasites were Dermacentor sp. Indet., Ameroseius sp. Indet., and Steatonyssus sp. Indet. and falls under the class Arachnida.
Highlights
Ectoparasites are organisms that infest the external body surface of host animals (Hopla et al 1994; Hunter et al 2001) during various stages of their life cycles and consume blood as well as epithelial cell contents directly from the hosts (Desch et al 1972; Mullen & Durden 2002)
In the course of the study, ectoparasites of C. sphinx were collected from eight different study sites (Table 2) as hitherto no information was available on the ectoparasites of any available bat species of Cachar and the adjoining areas of Barak Valley in Assam, India
The extensive field survey carried out in the eight different locations of Cachar District revealed the presence of 125 ectoparasites on 12 individuals of C. sphinx
Summary
Ectoparasites are organisms that infest the external body surface of host animals (Hopla et al 1994; Hunter et al 2001) during various stages of their life cycles (nymph, pupa, or adult) and consume blood as well as epithelial cell contents directly from the hosts (Desch et al 1972; Mullen & Durden 2002). An obligate parasite cannot complete its life cycle without exploiting a suitable host. It is considered to be host-specific and completes its entire life cycle on the host (Marshall 1982; Durden et al 1992). A facultative parasite, on the other hand, can parasitize but does not rely on the host to continue its life cycle. It may change its host during the different life stages. Some facultative ectoparasites may live in the same nests or share the same environment with the host and visit the host periodically (Galloway & Danks 1990)
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