Fleas (Siphonaptera) associated with mammals and birds in the Ciscaucasia

Abstract

The flea fauna of the Ciscaucasia comprises 76 species, 13 of which are associated with birds and the rest, with mammals. Rodent parasites are the most numerous; fleas associated with carnivores, bats, and insectivores are less abundant. Fleas parasitize different species of birds of the orders Passeriformes, Anseriformes, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes. Among 41 flea genera known from the Caucasus, species of the genera Amalaraeus, Araeopsylla, Atyphloceras, Caenopsylla, Callopsylla, Doratopsylla, Paraneopsylla, Peromyscopsylla, Phaenopsylla, Tarsopsylla, and Wagnerina are absent in the Ciscaucasia. Only two subendemic species were revealed in the region; 33 flea species are distributed over the entire Ciscaucasia, while the distribution of others is limited to landscapes of one or two natural zones.