New Species of the Genus Periglischrus (Acari: Spinturnicidae) from Monophyllus Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in the West Indies, Including a Morphometric Analysis of Its Intraspecific Variation

Abstract

The discovery of a new species, Periglischrus empheresotrichus, was determined through a review of museum collections, as well as a field survey of ectoparasites of island bats. This new species parasitizes on two bat species of the genus Monophyllus Leach, the Greater Antillean Long-tongued bat Monophyllus redmani Leach and the Lesser Antillean Long-tongued bat Monophyllus plethodon Miller. The female, male, deuthonymphs, and protonymph are described and illustrated. P. empheresotrichus n. sp. has an insular distribution, we evaluated the morphological variation of the adult populations, and concluded that intra-specific variation is correlated both with host species and locality (island) in the West Indies.

Keywords: Monophyllus; Periglischrus empheresotrichus n. sp; Spinturnicidae; West Indies; bat ectoparasite.