Helminths in Myomorph Rodents (Rodentia, Myomorpha) from the National Park “Smolny” and Its Surroundings (European Russia)

Abstract

The National Park “Smolny” is a large forest area, located in the center of European Russia. The helminth fauna of myomorph rodents was studied for the first time within the National Park in 2018–2020. Rodents were examined by the method of complete helminthological dissection. A total of 30 species of parasites were recorded in 11 rodent species: 6 trematodes, 11 cestodes and 13 nematodes. The trematode Plagiorchis maculosus (Rudolphi, 1802) was found in Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780) from the Russian fauna for the first time. Clethrionomys glareolus and Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1779) are new hosts for P. maculosus and metacestode Versteria mustelae (Gmelin, 1790), respectively. The most widespread and eurybiont rodent species have the most diverse and rich helminth fauna, such as C/ glareolus (14 species), Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771) (12) and Sylvaemus uralensis (Pallas, 1811) (10). The helminth fauna is less diverse in Sylvaemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834), M. arvalis (7 species each), Microtus agrestis (Linnaeus, 1761) (5), Microtus subterraneus (de Selys-Longchamps, 1836) (3), Sicista betulina (Pallas, 1779) (2) and Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) (1). Comparative analysis the helminth fauna of small rodents from the National Park “Smolny” with micromammals from other regions of European Russia revealed that the high similarity with other areas reaches the helminth fauna of M. subterraneus, S. flavicollis, S. uralensis, S. betulina, A. amphibius and M. agrestis.

Trematodes of Small Mammals (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Rodentia and Chiroptera) in the Middle Volga Region (Russia)

“…Our helminthological study of vertebrates in the Middle Volga region began in 1999. For more than 20 years of research, we have studied the trematode fauna of 28 species of small mammals (out of 85 inhabiting the region) from four orders [3,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Research was carried out in the territory of the Republic of Mordovia, Samara and Ulyanovsk Oblasts.…”

“…The dataset contains data on 43 species of Trematoda from 21 genera and 9 families found in the Republic of Mordovia, Ulyanovsk Oblast and Samara Oblast and documented simultaneously with coordinates (Figure 1). The families Lecithodendriidae (19) and Plagiorchiidae (11) are the largest in terms of species diversity (Figure 1). This is 69.8% of whole number of trematode species found in small mammals from the Middle Volga region In terms of number of species, the five genera of trematodes Prosthodendrium (8 species), Plagiorchis (6), Parabascus (4), Lecithodendrium (3) and Brachylaima (3) prevail, representing 55.8% of all digenean species (Figure 1).…”

“…The families Lecithodendriidae (19) and Plagiorchiidae (11) are the largest in terms of species diversity (Figure 1). This is 69.8% of whole number of trematode species found in small mammals from the Middle Volga region.…”

“…Thus, the list of trematodes of small mammals in the Middle Volga region, taking into account the literature data, includes 51 species of digeneans. [3,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]21,22], this study.…”

Parasites, Bacteria and Viruses of the Edible Dormouse Glis glis (Rodentia: Gliridae) in the Western Palaearctic

“…It is known that small wild rodents play an important role in the life cycles of the helminths of carnivorous mammals and birds of prey in higher trophic levels. Small rodents are involved in maintaining natural foci of zoonoses-diseases dangerous to humans and animals [4,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In this regard, the study of the parasite fauna of G. glis is of great scientific (biodiversity monitoring) and practical importance (study of the dormouse's role in the spread and preservation of zoonoses).…”