ArticleParasites & vectors2023
Species richness of bat flies and their associations with host bats in a subtropical East Asian region.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Molecular Detection and Genetic Diversity of Bat-Associated Bartonella spp. in Bat Ectoparasites Collected From Ratchaburi Province, Thailand.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Cave-dwelling bats as hosts of Trypanosoma livingstonei: Evidence from peri-domestic roosts in southeastern Nigeria.PloS one · 2026Article
- Complete mitochondrial genome characterization of the haemosporidian parasiteCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2026Article
- Specialization of bat-fly interactions at different elevations in a montane forest of northern Peru.Parasitology · 2025Article
- Diversity and seasonality of ectoparasite burden on two species of Madagascar fruit bat, Eidolon dupreanum and Rousettus madagascariensis.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Host associations and genetic diversity of bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) in bats from Thailand.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Adaptive evolution of traits for parasitism and pathogen transmission potential in bat flies.National science review · 2025Article
- Diversity and seasonality of ectoparasite burden on two species of Madagascar fruit bat,bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Molecular prevalence ofHeliyon · 2024Article
- Analysis of COI gene, prevalence, and intensity of the bat flyInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2023Article
- The complete mitochondrial genome ofMitochondrial DNA. Part B, Resources · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding the interactions between bat flies and host bats offer us fundamental insights into the coevolutionary and ecological processes in host-parasite relationships. Here, we investigated the identities, host specificity, and patterns of host association of bat flies in a subtropical region in East Asia, which is an understudied region for bat fly research.
methodsWe used both morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding to identify the bat fly species found on 11 cavernicolous bat species from five bat families inhabiting Hong Kong. We first determined the phylogenetic relationships among bat fly species. Then, we elucidated the patterns of bat-bat fly associations and calculated the host specificity of each bat fly species. Furthermore, we assembled the mitogenomes of three bat fly species from two families (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) to contribute to the limited bat fly genetic resources available.
resultsWe examined 641 individuals of bat flies and found 20 species, of which many appeared to be new to science. Species of Nycteribiidae included five Nycteribia spp., three Penicillidia spp., two Phthiridium spp., one Basilia sp., and one species from a hitherto unknown genus, whereas Streblidae included Brachytarsina amboinensis, three Raymondia spp., and four additional Brachytarsina spp. Our bat-bat fly association network shows that certain closely related bat flies within Nycteribiidae and Streblidae only parasitized host bat species that are phylogenetically more closely related. For example, congenerics of Raymondia only parasitized hosts in Rhinolophus and Hipposideros, which are in two closely related families in Rhinolophoidea, but not other distantly related co-roosting species. A wide spectrum of host specificity of these bat fly species was also revealed, with some bat fly species being strictly monoxenous, e.g. nycteribiid Nycteribia sp. A, Phthiridium sp. A, and streblid Raymondia sp. A, while streblid B. amboinensis is polyxenous.
conclusionsThe bat fly diversity and specificity uncovered in this study have shed light on the complex bat-bat fly ecology in the region, but more bat-parasite association studies are still needed in East Asian regions like China as a huge number of unknown species likely exists. We highly recommend the use of DNA barcoding to support morphological identification to reveal accurate host-ectoparasite relationships for future studies.
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