New records of ectoparasitic Acari (Arachnida) and Streblidae (Diptera) from bats in Jalisco, Mexico.

ABSTRACT

Ectoparasites of bats in the Neotropics are diverse and play numerous ecological roles as vectors of microbial pathogens and endoparasites and as food sources for other cave fauna living both on their hosts and in bat roosts. The ectoparasites of bats in Jalisco State of western Mexico have not been as well described as those of other states with recent checklists that have focused primarily on the Yucatan Peninsula. We captured bats from 2011-2015 on the south coast and Sierra de Amula, Jalisco using mist nets, and we removed ectoparasites by hand. We identified 24 species of streblid bat flies and six ectoparasitic mites from bats caught in mist nets. There were an additional eight possibly undescribed species of Streblidae. Our collections extend the known range of species into Jalisco.