Chiroptera, Blumenbach, 1779

Orlova, Maria V., Larchanka, Aleksandra I., Dolgova, Irina G. & Dziamianchyk, Viktar V., 2022, Unusual findings of fleas (Siphonaptera: Ctenophthalmidae, Ceratophyllidae) on bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Belarus: case report, Ecologica Montenegrina 57, pp. 37-43 : 40-41

Chiroptera , Vespertilionidae : Nyctalus noctula (this article, new record) ( Fig. 4 ).

Rodentia , Cricetidae : Arvicola terrestris ( Traub et al. 1983) , Myodes glareolus (Schreber, 1780) (as Clethrionomys glareolus – Traub et al. 1983), Clethrionomys rufocanus (Sundevall, 1846) ( Traub et al. 1983; Sapegina 1998), Clethrionomys rutilus ( Traub et al. 1983; Sapegina 1998), Microtus arvalis ( Traub et al. 1983) , M. agrestis ( Traub et al. 1983) , M. gregalis (Pallas, 1779) ( Sapegina 1988) , M. oeconomus ( Traub et al. 1983) , M. subterraneus (as Pitymys subterraneus – Haitlinger 1973), Sicista betulina Pallas, 1779 ( Sapegina 1988), Cricetus cricetus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Sapegina 1988) .

Rodentia , Muridae : Apodemus flavicollis ( Traub et al. 1983) , Ap. agrarius (Pallas, 1771) ( Sapegina 1988) , Ap. sylvaticus ( Traub et al. 1983) , Ap. peninsulae (Thomas, 1907) ( Sapegina 1988) , Micromys minutus (Pallas, 1771) ( Sapegina 1988) , Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) ( Traub et al. 1983) , Lemmus lemmus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Traub et al. 1983) .

Carnivora , Mustelidae : Mustela nivalis ( Traub et al. 1983) , M. erminea ( Traub et al. 1983) .

Carnivora , Canidae : Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Traub et al. 1983) .

Distribution: Norway ( Traub et al. 1983), Sweden ( Traub et al. 1983), Ireland ( Traub et al. 1983), Great Britain ( Traub et al. 1983), France ( Traub et al. 1983), Germany ( Müller, Gruschwitz 2016), Poland ( Traub et al. 1983), Slovakia ( Cyprich et al. 2006), Bulgaria ( Traub et al. 1983), Belarus (this article, new record), Russia (incl. Asian part) ( Traub et al. 1983; Tiflov 1977), Tajikistan ( Ioff et al. 1965), Kazakhstan ( Ioff et al. 1965).

Vector role. Amalaraeus penicilliger is known as a vector of tularemia ( Olsuf’ev 1960; Zhovtyi 1961) and suspected vector of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and lymphocytic choriomeningitis ( Lane, Crosskey 1993).

Remarks. According to Rothschild and Traub (1983), we consider Amalaraeus penicilliger as a Palaearctic subspecies group. Our finding of Am. penicilliger in Belarus is the first geographical record.

Arboreal behaviour is an extremely important feature of the spatial activity of small muroid rodents (superfamily Muroidea ) ( Stepankova, Vohralik 2009). Vertical activity has also been observed in voles and shrews ( Bobretsov et al. 2019). Nyctalus noctula is a tree-dwelling species that prefers hollows of large deciduous trees, and Myotis daubentonii is also able to inhabit tree hollows. This probably explains why fleas common to other orders of mammals are found on bats. To understand the role of bats in spreading dangerous focal infections, further research is necessary.

Figures

Figure 4. Nyctalus noctula, Brest region, Brest district, 15 VII 2021.