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To elucidate the prevalence of a mesostigmatic mite, Dermanyssus species, in Pallas’s squirrel, Callosciurus erythraeus, a species invasive to Japan, 240 specimens of the squirrels were examined for the mites during April, 2020-March, 2022. After the squirrels had been captured by the administrative agency as part of a capture policy against harmful mammals in Zushi-shi, a municipality in a southern area of Kanagawa prefecture, the animals were euthanized using carbon dioxide inhalation. Dermanyssus mites were detected on three of the squirrels. The collected mites were identified, based on their morphology, as Dermanyssus species, probably D. gallinae, which usually use birds as their major hosts and are often associated with the poultry industry. Infestation of the Pallas’s
squirrels by this mite species, even if by accidental parasitism, is thought to occur once in a while.Although the infection source of the mites to the squirrels was unknown, the possibility exist that the mites infested the squirrels when they intruded into poultry houses. Some mammals such as Pallas’s squirrels might be connected with Dermanyssus mite migration.
Research papers (publications of university or research institution)
