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Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research

On-line version ISSN 2219-0635
Print version ISSN 0030-2465

Onderstepoort j. vet. res. vol.75 n.3 Pretoria  2008

 

RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

 

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

 

 

K. JunkerI; O. BainII; J. BoomkerI, *

IDepartment of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
IIMuséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Parasitologie comparée et Modèles expérimentaux, USM 307, CP52, 61 rue Buffon, 75231 Paris, Cedex 05 France

 

 


ABSTRACT

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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Accepted for publication 12 May 2008-Editor

 

 

* Author to whom correspondence is to be directed. E-mail: joop.boomker@up.ac.za

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