The northernmost record of a blood-sucking ectoparasite, Lipoptena fortisetosa Maa (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), in Estonia

By

Kurina, Olavi
Kirik, Heli
Õunap, Heino
Õunap, Erki

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-12-13

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

7

Pages

e47857--

Subjects

deer keds , Diptera , Distribution , DNA barcode , Hippoboscidae , range expansion

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.7.e47857

 

Abstract

Deer keds are obligatory haematophagous parasites of large homeothermic animals, particularly cervids. Two of the five known species occurring in Europe—Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus) and L. fortisetosa Maa—are known to have a relatively wide distribution. Lipoptena fortisetosa is considered to have been introduced into Europe with sika deer from the Eastern Palaearctic and is continuously expanding its range. Little is known about the medical importance of deer keds, but they can cause hair loss in cervids and are suspected to be vectors of several diseases.
Details of the distribution of Lipoptena fortisetosa in Europe, including its northernmost record, are provided. This species has been shown to have a viable population in Southern Estonia. Furthermore, the differences from allied L. cervi are discussed, based on morphological and molecular characters.