New records of bat ectoparasites in floodplains ecosystems of the Colombian orinoquia

Abstract

Colombia is the country with the highest number of the bat species in the world. However, knowledge about bat ectoparasites is limited to a few general species lists and to the description in terms of composition and structure of bat parasitic arthropodofauna in a tropical rain and tropical dry forest. Recently, it has been evidenced that bat assemblages in savanna ecosystems of the Orinoquia region are highly diverse, consequently, knowledge about their ectoparasites is still unknown. The objective of this work is to present for the first time a list of bats ectoparasites in a floodplain savanna ecosystem in the department of Casanare, in the Colombian Llanos. We examined 102 bats belonging to eight species, we found 18 ectoparasite species. These parasites correspond to six families and five orders as follows, Diptera: Streblidae (9 spp.); Mesostigmata: Spinturnicidae (3 spp.) and Macronyssidae (3 spp.); Astigmata: Labidocarpidae (1 sp.); Ixodida: Ixodidae (1 sp.); Hemiptera: Polyctenidae (1 sp.). We report for the first time in Colombia the species Strebla tonatiae, Pseudostrebla greenwelli, Hesperoctenes eumops, Chiroptonyssus haematophagus and Parakosa flexipes. Additionally, we register the infestation by an Ixodid tick in bats and also, we report the species Tonatia saurophila as a new host for S. tonatiae and P. greenwelli.