The ectoparasites and gastrointestinal helminths associated with Smith's bush squirrel () in South Africa.

Abstract

is an arboreal tree squirrel that occurs in the Savanna biome of Africa, and information on its parasite diversity is limited and mostly qualitative. The aim of the study was to record the diversity and abundance of ecto- and helminth parasites associated withacross its distribution in South Africa.individuals (= 94) were opportunistically obtained from eight localities during 2020 to 2024. In total, 21 parasite species (19 ectoparasites and two nematodes) and one tick species group were identified. This included lice, ticks, fleas, a mesostigmatic mite, chiggers, nematodes and cestodes. Nematodes were the most prevalent (93·67%), followed by lice (80·85%).was recorded in 92·41% of, while an unknownspecies, resembling, was recorded in 21·52% of squirrels. The lice species displayed variation in parasitope preference, while chiggers were primarily recorded in the ears. This study provides new country records for the lice speciesand, for the chigger speciesand for the nematode. cf.. New locality records were documented for the nematodein South Africa, andis a new host record for the eight chigger species and. cf.. It is evident thatin South Africa hosts a considerably larger diversity of parasite taxa than previously recorded. Nematode counts were related to host length. These findings warrant future studies on the parasite diversity ofin Africa.