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Nasal mites are endoparasites that spend their entire life cycle inside the nasal cavities and respiratory passages of birds. The brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783) (hereafter BHCO), is an icterid bird that uses brood parasitism as a reproductive strategy in which it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species and allows the host to raise its young. Interestingly, nasal mites previously collected from brown-headed cowbirds represent some species shared by other icterids and others known from common host taxa. In this study, we examined how nasal mite species richness and prevalence differed geographically across three of the four migratory flyways of North America in a large sample size of BHCO. In total, ~4000 nasal mites (~3900 Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata) and 85 Ereynetidae (Trombidiformes)), representing nine species, were recovered from 856 cowbirds with a prevalence of 89%. Nasal mite prevalence was not significantly related with geographic location or host sex, suggesting that patterns of infection in BHCO occur similarly in all locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinturnicid mites are ectoparasites exclusively of bats. Herein, we provide a comprehensive catalogue of spinturnicid species recorded in Brazil focusing on their distribution nationwide. This catalogue listed 16 spinturnicid species into four different genera, and a key for the genera recorded in Brazil. Also, it provides new locality records for four species: Cameronieta almaensis Almeida, Gettinger and Gardner, Periglischrus acutisternus Machado-Allison, Periglischrus caligus Kolenati, and Periglischrus iheringi Oudemans. Additionally, this study includes a detailed discussion on the host-specificity and molecular data of these mites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Lepronyssoides Fonseca comprises four Neotropical species associated mainly with rodents. One of these species, L. pereirai (Fonseca), has been recorded parasitizing rodents and marsupials in several states of the north, northeast, and central-west regions of Brazil. This study is based on samples housed at the Acari Collection of the Butantan Institute (IBSP) and the National Collection of Ectoparasites and Vectors of the Univasf (NCEV-Univasf, Petrolina, PE, Brazil). It includes the first record of L. pereirai for the states of Piauí, Mato Grosso do Sul, and new host-associations with Thrichomys pachyurus, T. laurentius and Oecomys cleberi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Pellonyssus Clark and Yunker, 1956 comprises 14 species worldwide that are associates of birds. One of these species, Pellonyssus gorgasi Yunker and Radovsky, 1966, parasitizes hummingbirds in the Americas. This study represents a new host association with Eupetomena macroura (Apodiformes: Trochilidae) and the first occurrence of this mite in the state of São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]