Report on three ectoparasites of the Greater Shortnosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx Vahl, 1797 (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in Cachar District of Assam, India

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.