Infestations of flea species on small, wild mammals in the provinces of Aydın and Manisa in the Aegean Region, Turkey
This study was carried out to determine flea species infesting small, wild rodents and insectivorous wild mammals of the Aegean Region in Turkey. A total of 52 small, wild mammals, comprising one insectivorous and four rodent species, namely Crocidura suaveolens, Mus macedonicus, Apodemus flavicollis, Microtus levis, and Apodemus witherbyi, were captured. Fleas were collected, preserved in 70% alcohol, and labelled for identification in the field. In the laboratory, they were cleared in 10% KOH and mounted with Hoyer's medium. The fleas were identified as Stenoponia tripectinata (Tiraboschi, 1902) from Mus macedonicus (12.8%) and Nosopsyllus fasciatus (Bosc, 1800) from M. macedonicus (2.5%) and also from M. levis (100%). One out of the 5 C. suaveolens was infested by S. tripectinata. Two species of fleas were found on 8 of the 47 rodents and one of the 5 insectivorous mammals was infested by S. tripectinata. The flea species and their hosts should be further investigated for zoonotic pathogens.
___
- Baker DG. Natural pathogens of laboratory mice, rats, and rabbits
and their effects on research. Clin Microbiol 1998; 11: 231-266.
- Hawlena H, Khokhlova IS, Abramsky Z, Krasnov BR. Age,
intensity of infestation by flea parasites and body mass loss in a
rodent host. Parasitology 2006; 133: 187-193.
- Buchner S, Stubbe M, Striese D. Breeding and biological data for
the common dormouse (
Muscardinus avellanarius
) in eastern
Saxony (Germany). Acta Zool Hung 2003; 49: 19-26.
- Loftis AD, Reeves WK, Szumlas DE, Abbassy MM, Helmy IM,
Moriarity JR, Dasch GA. Surveillance of Egyptian fleas for agents
of public health significance:
Anaplasma
,
Bartonella
,
Coxiella
,
Ehrlichia
,
Rickettsia
, and
Yersinia pestis
. Am J Trop Med Hyg
2006; 75: 41-48.
- Romeo C, Pisanu B, Ferrari N, Basset F, Tillon L, Wauters LA,
Martinoli A, Saino N, Chapuis JL. Macroparasite community of
the Eurasian red squirrel (
Sciurus vulgaris
): poor species richness
and diversity. Parasitol Res 2013; 112: 3527-3536.
- Whitten, J. Tropical Wildlife of Southeast Asia. Tuttle
Publishing, USA, Periplus Editions, E-book, ISBN;
9781462913909, ProQuest Ebook Central, Ondokuz Mayıs
University; 2014.
- Özsan K, Erel D, Fazlı A, Beyoğlu K. Ankara, Konya ve Urfa’dan
yabani kemirici ve elde edilen pireler. Mikrobiyoloji Bülteni
1974; 8: 267-269 (article in Turkish with an English abstract).
- Lipatova I, Stanko M, Paulauskas A, Spakovaite S, Gedminas
V. Fleas (Siphonaptera) in the Nests of Dormice (Gliridae:
Rodentia) in Lithuania. J Med Entomol 2015; 52: 469-474.
- Libois RM. Observations on fleas of the Common dormouse
(
Muscardinus avellanarius
) in Belgium. Annales Soc R Zool
Belg 1979; 109: 77-85.
- Kirillova NY, Kirillov AA, Ivashkina VA. Ectoparasites of the
edible dormouse
Glis glis
L. of Samarskaya Luka Peninsula
(Russia). Pol J Ecol 2006; 54: 387-390.
- Lindroth GB, Smit FGAM. The fleas (Siphonaptera) of
Fennoscandia and Denmark. In: Kristensen NB, Michelsen
V. editors. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica. Leiden, the
Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV; 2007. pp. 1-188.
- Beaucournu JC. Quatre siphonaptères nouveaux pour la faune
française. Description de
Ctenophtalmus
(C.)
andorrensis
catalanensis
ssp. nova. Bull Soc Sci Bretagne 1973; 47: 169-175.
- Hopkins GHE, Rothschild M. An illustrated catalogue of the
Rothschild collection of fleas (Siphonaptera) in the British
Museum (Natural History). Vol III: Hystrichopsyllidae
(Acedestiinae, Anomiopsyllinae, Hystrichopsyllinae,
Neopsyllinae, Rhadinopsyllinae and Stenoponiinae). The
Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London,
UK; 1962.
- Smit FGAM. Siphonaptera. In: Barnard PC, editor. Handbooks
for the Identification of British Insects. Royal Entomological
Society; 1957. pp. 1-93.
- Traub R, Johnson PT.
Kohlsia whartoni
and
Stenoponia ponera
,
new species of fleas from North America. J Parasitol 1952; 38:
6-18.
- Çiçek H, Stanyukovich M, Yağcı S, Aktaş M, Karaer Z.
Gamasine mite (Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) infestations of
small mammals (Mammalia: Rodentia, Insectivora) in Turkey.
Turkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi 2008; 32: 65-70 (article in Turkish
with an English abstract).
- Garrett DA, Agee JS, Gremminger ER, Morgan WE. Rodents,
their ectoparasites and ecology in Western Turkey 1965-68. Ft.
Belvoir Defense Technical Information Center; 1968.
- Wei L, Wang X, Wang C, He H. A survey of ectoparasites from
wild rodents and
Anourosorex squamipes
in Sichuan Province,
Southwest China. J Ecol Nat Environ 2010; 2: 160-166.
- Kowalski K, Eichert U, Bogdziewicz M, Rychlik L.
Differentiation of flea communities infesting small mammals
across selected habitats of the Baltic coast, central lowlands,
and southern mountains of Poland. Parasitol Res 2014; 113:
1725-1734.
- Vicente SS, López MSG. Presence of
Stenoponia tripectinata
(Tiraboschi, 1902) (Siphonaptera, Ctenophtalmidae) in
murine (Rodentia) from the Canary Islands. Acta Parasitol
2012; 57: 190-193.
- Çelebi B, Özkan AT, Babür C.
Capillaria hepatica
in mouse
(
Apodemus flavicollis
) from Giresun Province of Turkey.
Turkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi 2014; 38: 208-210.
- Çalışır B. İstanbul’un Kazlıçeşme semti ve komşu bölgelerindeki
sıçan ve farelerde
leptospira
araştırılması. Turkiye Parazitoloji
Dergisi 2000; 24: 329-331 (article in Turkish with an English
abstract).