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

Kerstin Junker | Zendy; O. Bain | Zendy; J Boomker | Zendy

Open Access

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

Author(s) -

Kerstin Junker,

O. Bain,

J Boomker

Publication year - 2008

Publication title -

onderstepoort journal of veterinary research

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563

H-Index - 35

eISSN - 2219-0635

pISSN - 0030-2465

DOI - 10.4102/ojvr.v75i3.102

Subject(s) - helminths , species richness , biology , zoology , subfamily , ecology , veterinary medicine , medicine , biochemistry , gene

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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