Dr. Kassai Tibor - Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 10. (Budapest, 1977)
An accidental parasite on rodents (Apodemus, Clethrionomys etc, ) and carnivores (Mustelidae). General distribution: Palaearctic. ••Conclusions From the above, it can be concluded that in the Retezat National Park of the Romanian Carpathians the Siphonaptera fauna seems to have the following ecological and zoogeographical peculiarities: rthadinopsylla mesoides is the only species of the genus recorded so far, both on the N-W and S-E slopes of this mountain massif; Doratopsylla dasycnema cuspis occurs frequently in the mests of Soricidae, especially parasitizing on Sorex araneus, which actually is the most frequently infested species of all European insectivores. It prefers hosts from the forest biotopes. The presence of a large number of males in the host fur is noteworthy: SMIT (1966) reports to a mean sex ratio of 2:1; in our case it is 2:0, 25; Palaeopsylla soricis starki infests insectivores in alpine areas, common in Roumania, but small number occurs; Ctenophthalmus capriciosus bychowskyi was recorded by VYSOTSKAYA (1968) and SUCIU (1969) from two geographically distinct Carpathian massives, which suggests a wider distribution area in Central Europe; C. capriciosus capriciosus has a southern, Mediterranean location while C. capriciosus bychowskyi has a central and alpine distribution; the two species of Peromy scopsylla , ( P. silvatica and P. bidentata ) are parasitic both on insectivores and rodents (Microtinae and Murinae)} Leptopsylla taschenbergi taschenbergi is encountered in Roumania in a great variety of biotopes from the Danube Delta to the forests of conifers up to almost 1800 m altitude (the Gemeni Peak); Amphypsylla sibirica is a species of high altitude, its main host being C. glareolus as it has been identified by us; Malareus arvicolae is also a species of high altitude, SUCIU (1973) however found this species also in the low altitude zones (Bilcesti-Arge|); Malareus penicillinger kratochvili accidentally encountered by us on Mustela nivalis; its common hosts are rodents and insectivores. The analysis of the vertical distribution of these flea species and subspecies indicates that most of them are mountain and even alpine forms (R. mesoides , P. soricis starki, C. cap riciosus bychowskyi , P. silvatica , P. bidentata , A. sibirica , M. penicilliger kratochvili). The hosts of the fleas recorded here are spread throughout all regions of Roumania in different biotopes on the vertical, excepting Microtus nivalis from the mountain (800 m) and alpine zones, as well as C. glareolus. The hosts generally present parasitocenoses which vary with the altitude. Yet., most of the species encountered by us have a great adaptive plasticity both to the hosts and biotopes, e.g. L. taschenbergi taschenbergi . Few of the flea species show high host specificity, such as D. dasycnema cuspis , P. soricis starki from insectivores, especially Sorex, A. sibirica from C. glareolus. Other species occur on different species of small mammals in the same
