Helminth parasites of Natal long-fingered bats, Miniopterus natalensis (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae), in South Africa

Junker, K.; Bain, O.; Boomker, J.

Helminth parasites of Natal long-fingered bats, Miniopterus natalensis (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae), in South Africa

2008

Junker, K.(University of Pretoria Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases) | Bain, O.(Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Parasitologie comparée et Modèles expérimentaux) | Boomker, J.(University of Pretoria Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases)

The helminth community infecting Miniopterus natalensis was studied at two localities, the De Hoop Nature Reserve (DHNR) (n = 57), Western Cape Province and Pretoria (n = 12), Gauteng Province, South Africa. Hosts from the DHNR had formed part of an earlier, unrelated study and were all pregnant females. A single hymenolepidid cestode species, the nematodes Molinostrongylus ornatus and Litomosa chiropterorum together with nematodes of the subfamily Capillariinae were present at both study sites, while a single digenean, Allassogonoporus sp., was only found in hosts from the DHNR. The prevalence of helminth infections was high at both localities, 68.4 % in the DHNR and 77.7 % in Pretoria, whereas the mean intensity of infection was low at the DHNR (3.76 ± 3.15), but higher in Pretoria (10.4 ± 9.9). Molinostrongylus ornatus and, to a lesser extent L. chiropterorum, were the main contributors to the higher intensities in Pretoria. The species richness ranged from 0 to 4 at both localities.

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