Ectoparasitic flies (Diptera, Streblidae) of bats (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in an Atlantic Forest area, southeastern Brazil.

We studied infestation rates and parasite-host associations between streblid flies and phyllostomid bats in an Atlantic Forest area of Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. We captured 301 individuals from seven Phyllostomidae bat species. Out of that total, 69 bats had been parasitised by nine Streblidae species; the most frequent species were Trichobius joblingi and Trichobius tiptoni. The species Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with Anoura geoffroyi, was the most frequent species. The highest mean intensity was observed for Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with A. geoffroyi, and Paratrichobius longicrus associated with Artibeus lituratus, both ectoparasite species with a mean intensity of five individuals per bat. Trichobius joblingi exhibited the highest mean abundance, which was over three on its host species. Streblid richness in the study area was similar to the richness found in other studies carried out in the Atlantic Forest. We observed that streblid richness in this biome depends more on inherent characteristics of each physiognomy and on the host-species than on the sampling effort.