Abstract

JUNKER, K.; BAIN, O.  and  BOOMKER, J.. Helminth parasites of Natal long-fingered bats, Miniopterus natalensis (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae), in South Africa. Onderstepoort j. vet. res. [online]. 2008, vol.75, n.3, pp.261-265. ISSN 2219-0635.

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.

Keywords : Cestoda; Chiroptera; Digenea; Nematoda.

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