New locality record of the Lofty bath white butterfly Pontia callidice (Hübner, 1800) in Nepal

Lofty bath white Pontia callidice is a little-known butterfly of Nepal, reported only from Darchula district, Far Western Nepal. We recorded the new distribution eastward of this species 166 km N-E far from its previous range in Talung and Gyaukhola Valley of Upper Humla in July 2017 at elevations between 4400 to 4829 m above sea level. This is also the highest elevation record of this species.

A new locality record for Radfordiella desmodi Radovsky, 1967 (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) parasitizing the vampire bat in Brazil

Macronyssid mites are ectoparasites of reptiles, birds, and mammals (mainly bats). Out of 35 genera in this family, Radfordiella Fonseca, 1948 is a genus from the Neotropical region with six valid species, found parasitizing phyllostomid bats. Only Radfordiella desmodi Radovsky, 1967 and Radfordiella oudemansi Fonseca, 1948 have been registered in Brazil. The present study provides a new locality record for the species R. desmodi, microscopy images to aid in the identification, and a distribution map.

A new case of trombiculiasis caused by Eutrombicula daemoni Bassini-Silva & Jacinavicius, 2018 (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae) in a dog from Brazil

Chiggers are ectoparasites and can cause severe dermatitis in their hosts, known as trombiculiasis. Besides that, these mites can be vectors of bacteria of the genus Orientia, in various regions of the world. The genera Eutrombicula Ewing, 1938 is currently represented by more than 80 species worldwide. Species of this genus are recorded parasitizing reptiles, birds, and mammals. One of this species, Eutrombicula daemoni Bassini-Silva & Jacinavicius, 2018 was recently described causing trombiculiasis in a dog. Our goal is to report a new case of a dog’s trombiculiasis, including a new locality record for E. daemoni in Brazil. In May 2021, a female Shih-Tzu dog with three years old and with access to the forest of the Santa Tereza municipality, southeastern Brazil, sought veterinary medical attention for intense itching and erythema in the facial region. Mites were collected directly from the face of the dog. These materials were slide-mounted and deposited in the Acarological Collection of the Butantan Institute (IBSP). The material extracted from the dog was examined and identified as E. daemoni. Part of the fixation site tissue of the dog was collected, showing the feeding tube produced by the enzymatic reaction of saliva by the mite, known as a stylostome. In this report, we emphasize the occurrence of trombiculiasis in domestic animals that have access to forest regions, places that unfed chigger larvae live. Additionally, this record represents a new locality record for E. daemoni to the Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

New record of monogeneans (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) infecting some marine fishes from the Peruvian coastal zone

A parasitological survey searching monogeneans infesting marine fish was carried out during June 2018 and January 2020 from the coastal zone of Puerto Pizarro, Tumbes (northern Peru) and from the coastal zone of Chorrillos, Lima (central Peru). The gills, skin, nasal cavities, or branchial gill-cover of seven species were sampled. Ten monogenean species assigned to six families and nine genera were identified. The monogeneans Callorhynchocotyle callorhynchi (Manter, 1955); Capsala biparasiticum (Goto, 1894) Price, 1938; Euryhaliotrema sagmatum Kritsky & Boeger, 2002; Listrocephalos kearni Bullard, Payne &Braswell, 2004; Magniexcipula lamothei Bravo-Hollis, 1981; Nasicola klawei (Stunkard, 1962) Yamaguti, 1968; and Pseudorhabdosynochus anulus Violante-Gonzalez & Rojas-Herrera, 2011 are registered for the first time in Peru. While Capsala gregalis (Wagner & Carter, 1967) Chisholm & Whittington, 2007; Heterocotyle margaritae Chero, Cruces, Sáez, Santos & Luque, 2020; and Monocotyle luquei Chero, Cruces, Iannacone, Sanchez, Minaya, Sáez & Alvariño, 2016 have been previously registered in Peruvian waters, however, the region of Tumbes (northern Peru) represent a new locality record for these species.

First Locality Record of Melanistic Oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) in Monteverde, Costa Rica

The persistence of the coat color polymorphism melanism has been reported for several tropical felids, but its evolutionary advantages remain an active area of research. Few publications have explored melanism in the elusive species, oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) within the Neotropical part of their range in Costa Rica. Herein, I present the first record of a melanistic oncilla within the montane cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Recent studies have found support for theories (e.g. Temporal Segregation Hypothesis and Gloger’s Rule) explaining the ecological advantages driving melanism in oncilla and tropical felid populations. However, it is unclear what is driving melanism in this Monteverde oncilla population due to the singular observation. Further research investigating whether melanism is occurring at a higher frequency in other individuals in the region is critical to better understanding the occurrence of melanism in local populations of this cryptic species. The montane cloud forest in Monteverde provides critical habitat to this vulnerable species within the small Neotropical part of their range. Melanistic individuals may be particularly threatened by land-use change and increasing human pressure if theories for the evolutionary advantages and ecological conditions motivating melanism are supported.

A new locality record and distribution of Caluromys derbianus in México

En México, el tlacuachillo dorado (Caluromys derbianus) se considera un mamífero raro y amenazado que habita bosques tropicales. En los últimos 10 años, su presencia se ha registrado en 14 localidades, por lo que un nuevo registro contribuye a describir aspectos de su distribución geográfica. El objetivo del estudio fue registrar las características del atropellamiento de un ejemplar de C. derbianus y describir su área de distribución geográfica en México con base en registros históricos y actuales. El día 27 de agosto de 2019 se registró una hembra adulta de C. derbianus atropellada en la localidad de Peñuela, municipio de Amatlán de Los Reyes, Veracruz, México, localidad que se caracteriza por ser un área semiurbana, con presencia de vegetación secundaria y un arroyo tributario del Río Blanco. Este registro, poco habitual por la baja densidad poblacional de la especie, confirma su presencia en una localidad no conocida dentro de su área de distribución potencial y ayuda a entender el efecto de la perturbación y fragmentación del bosque tropical subperennifolio sobre el hábitat de esta especie.

Community structure of protozoan parasites in Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch 1794) in Bangladesh

The study was conducted to prepare a database for the infection status of protozoan parasites on an important host fish species of Bangladesh, Heretropneustes fossilis. Host samples were collected from the freshwater habitats of six different districts of Bangladesh- Manikganj, Faridpur, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Bogura, and Jashore. H. fossilis was noted to be infected by 6 parasite species, of which 3 belonged to myxozoa (Henneguya singhi, Henneguya qadrii and Henneguya mystusia); 1 belonged to ciliophora (Trichodina siddiquae) and 2 (Trypanosoma singhii and Piscinoodium pillulare) belonged to mastigophora.The parasites, Trypanosoma singhii and Henneguya singhi were recorded as new locality record in H. fossilis. The three parasites Piscinoodium pillulare, Henneguya qadrii and Henneguya mystusia were the first recorded parasites in this fish and the first locality record in Bangladesh. The parasites were observed to occupy gill, body slime, and blood. Gill parasites were abundantly found compared to body slime and blood parasites. The highest prevalence (67.21%) of infection of H. fossilis was observed in Manikganj and the lowest prevalence (54.67%) of infection was observed in Bogura. Parasites of H. fossilis showed the highest diversity in fishes of Faridpur (2.63). Species richness of parasites was highest in Manikganj (0.38) and species evenness was relatively low (0.13-0.19) in almost all the study sites. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 30(2): 307-316, 2021 (July)