OCCURRENCE OF CRANEOPSYLLA MINERVA MINERVA (ROTHSCHILD, 1903) (SIPHONAPTERA, STEPHANOCIRCIDAE) FROM DIDELPHIS ALBIVENTRIS IN THE STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL

OCORRÊNCIA DE CRANEOPSYLLA MINERVA MINERVA (ROTHSCHILD, 1903) (SIPHONAPTERA, STEPHANOCIRCIDAE) EM DIDELPHIS ALBIVENTRIS NO ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRASIL

ABSTRACT

The occurrence of Craneopsylla minerva minerva is reported for the first time in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, parasiting Didelphis albiventris (opossum).

KEY WORDS:
Craneopsylla minerva minerva, Siphonaptera; Didelphis albiventris; opossum.

RESUMO

É relatada a ocorrência de Craneopsylla minerva minerva pela primeira vez no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, parasitando Didelphis albiventris (gambá).

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:
Craneopsylla minerva minerva; Siphonaptera; Didelphis albiventris; gambá.

The occurrence of Craneopsylla minerva minerva is reported for the first time in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, parasiting the opossum Didelphis albiventris. Three females were collected from one D. albiventris from Cerrito, RS. The fleas were preserved in alcohol 70ºGL and the identification was made in the Laboratory of Entomology, Departament of Microbiology and Parasitology, Institute of Biology, UFPel (DEMP- IB-UFPel). For the specific identification the keys of JOHNSON (1957) and LINARDI & GUIMARÃES (2000) were used. The existence of only one species with two sub-species is reported in the literature: C. minerva minerva (ROTHSCHILD, 1903) and C. minerva wolffhuegeli (ROTHSCHILD, 1909). The difference between the two sub-species are the number of the spines of the genal comb: five on each side for C. m. minerva (Fig.1) and seven or eight on each side for C. m. wolffuegeli, which had not been described in Brazil until now, only in Argentina and Chile.

Fig. 1
Head and prothorax of Craneopsylla minerva minerva from Didelphis albiventris

HOPKINS (1951) in JOHNSON (1957) cited the occurrence of C. m. minerva in the State of Minas Gerais but the host was not described.

The geographical distribution for C. m. minerva is Brazil, Argentina, Paraguai, Peru and Venezuela; in Brazil the occurrence has been reported in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Santa

Catarina, and São Paulo (LINARDI & GUIMARÃES, 2000).

In the endemic area of the bubonic plague, the Brazilian Northeast (Alagoas, Pernambuco, Ceará), C. m. minerva represents 2.0% of the fleas described from wild animals (GUIMARÃES, 1972).

One exemplary specimen was catalogued and deposited in the DEMP - IB - UFPel, Entomologic Collection.

REFERENCES

• GUIMARÃES, L.R. Contribuição à epidemiologia da peste endêmica no nordeste do Brasil e Estado da Bahia. Estudo das pulgas encontradas nessa região. Rev. Bras. Malariol. Doenças. Trop., v.24, n.1/4, p.95-163, 1972.
• JOHNSON, P.T. A classification of the Siphonaptera of South America. Washington: Entomological Society of Washington U.S. National Museum, 1957. 299p.
• LINARDI P.M. & GUIMARÃES, L.R. Sifonápteros do Brasil. São Paulo: Museu de Zoologia Univ. São Paulo/FAPESP, 2000. 291p. 363figs.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  20 Sept 2024
• Date of issue
  Oct-Dec 2002

History

• Received
  17 June 2002
• Accepted
  18 Nov 2002