The first record of the spinturnicid mite Spinturnix kolenatii Oudemans, 1910 (Mesostigmata: Gamasina: Spinturnicidae) from the long-tailed serotine bat Eptesicus hottentotus A. Smith, 1833 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Africa

ABSTRACT

Three individuals of a spinturnicid mite resembling, Spinturnix kolenatii, are reported from the long-tailed serotine bat, Eptesicus hottentotus A. Smith, 1833 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), caught in the Kunene Region of Namibia (Southern Africa). This is the first report of S. kolenatii in Africa, significantly expanding the geographical distribution range of this ectoparasite.

KEYWORDS:

• Spinturnicidae
• bat ectoparasite
• long-tailed serotine bat
• Namibia
• Kunene Region

Acknowledgments

We thank B. Kondratieff, K. Huyvaert, B. Johnson, and C. Farrell for providing access to laboratory space, microscopes, and references at Colorado State University and Dr. Sergey V. Kruskop (Zoological Museum of Moscow State University) for his helpful comments during the preparation of the manuscript. Special thanks to the anonymous reviewers, whose advice made this manuscript much better.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Fieldwork was conducted with in accordance with the guidelines of Colorado State University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #15-6140A) and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Republic of Namibia (research/collecting permits #2122/2016 and #2225/16).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to TML and by the National Research Tomsk State University Competitiveness Improvement Program to MVO.