Ectoparasite fauna of the Siberian bat Myotis sibiricus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) with a revision of previous data on ectoparasites from Brandt’s bat Myotis brandtii s. l. and the whiskered bat M. mystacinus s. l. of the Eastern Palaearctic

Abstract

The article presents new and currently the most thorough data on the fauna of ectoparasites of the Siberian bat Myotis sibiricus Kastschenko, 1905 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), a species belonging to the Siberian–Far Eastern bat fauna complex and previously regarded as a subspecies of Brandt’s bat M. brandtii s. l. A revision of the literature and collection material on ectoparasites of Brandt’s bat and the whiskered bat in the old interpretation was performed. The data on the parasite fauna of the Siberian bat in the territory of Khakassia, Irkutsk Province, Buryatia, and Yakutia are reported for the first time. The Siberian bat is regarded as the principal host for some species of parasitic arthropods: the gamasid mites Spinturnix mystacinus and Macronyssus sibiricus and the bat fly Basilia truncata. The total ectoparasite fauna of M. sibiricus in Siberia and the Russian Far East comprises 23 species of arthropods, 10 of which have been recorded based on new data and 7, as the result of revision of the taxonomic status of the hosts. The gamasid mite Cryptonyssus flexus is recorded from the Eastern Palaearctic for the first time.