Exploring the relationship between bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) and ectoparasitic flies (Diptera, Hippoboscoidea) of the Orinoquia Region in South America.

ABSTRACT: Bat flies (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) have been used to study co-evolutionary patterns between ectoparasites and bats. In the world, Nycteribiidae and Streblidae are represented by approximately 276 and 237 species, respectively. In regions such as the Orinoquia located in the north of South America (Colombia and Venezuela), the richness of bats is high (more than 100 documented species), but studies on Nycteribiidae and Streblidae are scarce and discontinuous. To contribute to the knowledge of ectoparasitic flies in the Orinoquia, records of flies and their interactions with bats were reviewed, including new records and associations using interaction networks. We documented 124 species of Streblidae and only 12 of Nycteribiidae for the Orinoquia in approximately 102 bat species reporte

SUBMITTER: Ospina-Perez EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10504637 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature