Ectoparasites (Diptera: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) of bats from some localities of the Coast of Ecuador

Abstract

In Ecuador, studies of parasitic bat flies are scarce and biased towards the family Streblidae: reports indicate the existence of 50 species, five of them on the western lowlands. In this study, in addition to Streblidae, we include information of the family Nycteribiidae that has not been studied in Ecuador. Both families are associated with bats in several localities of the western lowlands of the country. We used samples from the associated collection of parasites of the Mammalogy Section of the Museo de Zoología at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (QCAZ-M), as well as the database of the collection that allowed obtaining information on the host taxa. Thus, 145 individuals of bats of 22 species of the families Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae and 424 individuals of 29 species of parasitic flies are reported. Of these, five species are new in Ecuador, 19 are confirmed records in the west and the geographic distribution was extended for species previously reported in this region. Trichobius joblingi was the most abundant parasitic fly species and together with Speiseria ambigua were associated with the greatest number of bat species. Species of the genus Carollia were the most abundant and harbored the greatest diversity of flies. The study constitutes the first extensive review of Diptera (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) in the area and, therefore, contributes to expanding the knowledge of the diversity of ectoparasites of bats in Ecuador.