Ectoparasites of the endemic rodent Abrocoma bennetti (Hystricomorpha: Abrocomidae) from semiarid Chile

Abstract

A total of 13 individuals of the Abrocoma bennetti rodent were captured and 354 ectoparasites belonging to 10 different species were collected and analyzed. The most abundant species was a Phithraptera, Monogyropus longus (62%), followed by Siphonaptera Delostichus smiti (23%). In this study Gyropus distinctus (15%) is reported as new record for A. bennetti, previously described for Octodon degus, a rodent usually living in sympatry with A. bennetti. For the first time the mites Ornithonyssus sp. and Androlaelaps fahrenholzi are recorded in this rodent species.