Hyperparasitism in bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae): new records and interaction networks in the Neotropics
Hyperparasitism is defined as the interaction where one parasite is infected by another parasite. In bat flies (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae), both hyperparasites and microparasites (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and arthropods such as mites) have been documented. Fungi belonging to the order Laboulbeni...
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Published in | Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 123; no. 6; p. 255 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Berlin/Heidelberg
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2024
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Hyperparasitism is defined as the interaction where one parasite is infected by another parasite. In bat flies (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae), both hyperparasites and microparasites (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and arthropods such as mites) have been documented. Fungi belonging to the order Laboulbeniales are microscopic parasites of a wide diversity of arthropod hosts. Three genera exclusively target bat flies:
Arthrorhynchus
, which parasitizes species within Nycteribiidae in the Eastern Hemisphere, while genus
Gloeandromyces
and
Nycteromyces
parasitize Streblidae in the Western Hemisphere. Among the hyperparasitic arthropods, mites of family Neothrombidiidae, particularly the monospecific genus
Monunguis
, are known to parasitize bat flies. Here we present the first records of the hyperparasites
Monunguis streblida
and
Gloeandromyces pageanus
f.
polymorphus
parasitizing Streblidae bat flies in Colombia and a summary of these hyperparasitic interactions in the Neotropics. We detected fungi and mites parasitizing bat flies that were collected in the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, in field expeditions in 2018, 2022, and 2023. We identified 17 bat flies and two species of hyperparasites, specifically
M. streblida
and the fungi
Gloeandromyces
. Our search for reports of these interactions in the Neotropics revealed that seven species of
Trichobius
(Streblidae) are parasitized by
M. streblida
, whereas
Paratrichobius longicrus
(Streblidae) is parasitized by
Gloeandromyces pageanus f. polymorphus
. These interactions have been reported in 11 countries, but our records are the first of
M. streblida
and Laboulbeniales fungi parasitizing bat flies in Colombia. So far, a total of 14 species of fungi and one species of mite have been associated with 19 species of bat flies, which in turn, are linked to 15 species of Neotropical bats. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Section Editor: Konstans Wells |
ISSN: | 0932-0113 1432-1955 1432-1955 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00436-024-08221-1 |