First Data on the Helminth Community of the Smallest Living Mammal on Earth, the Etruscan Pygmy Shrew, <i>Suncus etruscus</i> (Savi, 1822) (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

Abstract

Suncus etruscus is the smallest living mammal on Earth by mass. Most adults weigh 1.8–3 g with a body length of 35–48 mm. Catching it in small mammal traps in nature is extremely difficult due to its minute size, and therefore special trapping methods must be used. We had the unique opportunity of studying, for the first time, the helminth parasites of 166 individuals of S. etruscus, part of the largest collection in the world, which belonged to the French scientist Dr Roger Fons (1942–2016). A total of 150 individuals were captured in the Banyuls-Cerbère area (France) and 16 in the island of Corsica (France). We found seven helminth species, specifically, the cestodes Joyeuxiella pasqualei larvae, Mesocestoides sp. larvae, Staphylocystis claudevaucheri, S. banyulsensis, S. cerberensis, and Pseudhymenolepis sp., and the nematodes Aonchotheca sp. and Nematoda gen. sp. larvae. Neither trematodes nor acanthocephalans were detected. We provide prevalences, infracommunity compositions, and helminth associations. The adult helminth community of S. etruscus seems to be highly specific, i.e., oioxenous, and linked to its insectivore diet. Due to its small size, S. etruscus has undergone numerous physiological adaptations that have probably influenced its helminth spectrum as well as its helminth specificity.

Keywords

• <i>Suncus etruscus</i>
• <i>Mesocestoides</i> sp. <i>larvae</i>
• <i>Joyeuxiella pasqualei larvae</i>
• <i>Staphylocystis claudevaucheri</i>
• <i>S. cerberensis</i>
• <i>S. banyulsensis</i>