Search

We analyzed the prevalence, intensity, and medium density of parasitism of Hesperoctenes fumarius infesting Molossus rufus in natural (hollow trees) and anthropogenic roosts (attics) in southeastern Brazil. The prevalence and intensity of infestations were higher in the hollow trees than in the attic roosts. We also noted a relationship between the amount of space available within the roost and the infestation levels of H. fumarius. One advantage of roosting in larger, often man-made, refuges may be the reduction in ectoparasite infestations.

Tur megistoproctus, a new species of Laelapinae, is described from the pelage of the echimyid rodent Proechimys dimidiatus from the Atlantic forests of Ilha Grande, south of Rio de Janeiro. Measurements and illustrations are included for females and males. Another laelapine mite species, Tur turki Fonseca, co-occurred with T. megistoproctus in our studies and was recorded from the same host individuals and localities. These 2 laelapine mite species appear to be exclusively associated with a complex of echimyid rodent species (subgenus Trinomys) in the Atlantic forests of southeastern Brazil.

Mesostigmatic mites of the Laelapinae Berlese, 1892 (Acari: Laelapidae) are nidicolous arthropods that commonly occur in the fur of Neotropical small mammmals. In this 2-yr study, the laelapine acarofauna associated with the small mammal community in an area of Atlantic forest on Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro State, was examined, including observations on patterns of host specificity, mite dispersal, ecology, and food habits. A total of 1,347 laelapines was sampled from the pelage of 6 species of small mammals (Marmosops incanus, Nectomys squamipes, Oryzomys russatus, Rhipidomys n. sp., Oxymycterus dasytrichus, and Trinomys dimidiatus), all of which occurred exclusively in monoxenous associations with their hosts. No evidence of a blood meal was observed in the gut of the mites. With the exception of the 2 species of Tur, mite populations on hosts were entirely or nearly restricted to adult females. These results, together with some morphological characteristics of laelapines, reinforce the hypotheses that Neotropical laelapine mites are not ectoparasitic, and that females disperse by phoresy.