A fragment of 875 bp of the 18S rRNA gene was studied in 12 samples of Mesocestoides tetrathyridia from small mammals of 7 species collected in geographically distant localities. Five haplotypes were identified, differing from each other by 27 nucleotide substitutions in 24 sites. It has been found that the 18S rRNA haplotypes belong to two genetically distinct haplogroups. Molecular diversity indices were calculated for each of them. The conducted analysis allowed to suggest the following: 1) Mesocestoides sp. haplogroups A and B belong to two different species, but do not belong to any of the confirmed species of the genus; 2) the deletion of bp 729–747 and the insertion at site 761 of guanine can be regarded as a genetic marker for the species Mesocestoides litteratus.
Bat flies (Nycteribiidae) were collected during bat ringing in Vladimir Province in 2016–2023. A total of 1308 bats belonging to 11 species were examined, and 3 species of bat flies were found on them: Basilia nattereri Kolenati, 1857, Penicillidia monoceros Speiser, 1900, and Nycteribia kolenatii Theodor et Moscona, 1954. The most abundant and common species was N. kolenatii.
Insectivores (order Eulipotyphla) are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems. They are active consumers of small animals, primarily arthropods, and the main pathogen carriers in a number of natural foci of tularemia, epidemic hemorrhagic fever, and leptospirosis; they may also be infected with the plague microbe. The arthropods that parasitize insectivores may be infected with these pathogens and serve as their vectors. In this paper, we have analyzed the taxonomic diversity, distribution pattern, and host-parasite relationships of the flea species recorded as parasites of Eulipotyphla in the Caucasus. Insectivores and their fleas migrated to the Caucasus from Southern Europe, Asia Minor, and West Asia in the Pliocene and Pleistocene simultaneously with the migration of floral complexes.
This paper explores the specific features of the fauna of fleas (Siphonaptera) of Karelia, as part of a larger geographic region comprising Northwestern Russia and Fennoscandia. Our analysis included information from the available summary reviews and data from the PARHOST1 information analysis system on the world flea fauna, hosted by the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and supplemented regularly since 2001. At present, 28 flea species of 13 genera have been recorded for Karelia, amounting to about 35
Mosquitoes (Culicidae) are the most significant arthropods of medical importance because of the burden of diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile fever, that they transmit to humans. In 2017, the most recently published checklist of mosquitoes from Saratov Province included 34 species representing six genera. This article provides a review of historical and recent studies on the fauna of blood-sucking mosquitoes in Saratov Province. Based on the analysis of literature data, the checklist of mosquitoes has been updated. The updated checklist includes 37 species of five genera.
