Mites of the genus Calcarmyobia (Acarina, Myobiidae) with information on the taxonomy of their host bats of the genus Minioptems (Chiroptera, Miniopteridae)* Kimito Uchikawa Department of Parasitology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto 390, Japan Introduction The tendency to regard the genus Calcarmyobia Radford as monotypic was prevalent until the beginning of the 1970s. The eight known species of the genus have been described on strict definition of each species (Uchikawa, 1982), and it is gradually proved that the mites of the genus Calcarmyobia are specific parasites of bats of the genus Miniopterus. Referring to the present knowledge of the mites, such formerly proposed specific names Calcarmyobia miniopteris and C. parenzani for species from South Africa and Europe, respectively, as well as some host records, should be revised (Uchikawa, 1984). Mites of the genus Calcarmyobia have been evaluated as good indicators in the taxonomy and phylogeny of their host bats (Uchikawa & Harada, 1981). As the taxonomy of Miniopterus is not in a satisfactory state, an accumulation of records of the mites is believed to give a clue for solving some complicated problems in this area. The present author had an opportunity to examine for ectoparasites the bat specimens deposited in the collections of the big museums in Europe and the United States. The present paper presents the records of the five species of the genus Calcarmyobia taken during the trip to add to the knowledge of the mites themselves and their host taxonomy. The abbreviations for the museums, where the material dealt with in the present paper was collected, are as follows: AMNH American Museum of Natural History, New York; BMNH British Museum (Natural History), London; BSPM Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu; FMNH Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; MNHN Museum National d'Historie Naturelle, Paris; RMNH Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Histoire, Leiden; SMF Forschungs Institut Senkenberg, Frankfurt. Records of mites Calcarmyobia rhinolophia (Radford, 1940) Myobia rhinolophia Radford, 1940, Parasitol, 32: 91. Calcarmyobia rhinolophia (Radford, 1940), Radford, 1952, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris., 24: 371; Fain, 1978, Ann. Mus. r. Afr. cent., (Sci. Zool.), 224: 92; Uchikawa, 1982, Annot. zool. Japon., 55: 32. This species was described originally on the material taken from a number of bats by G. H. E. Hopkins and T. H. E. Jackson in a cave at Kapretwa, Mt Elgon, Kenya (Radford, 1940). The host was given as 'a bat (Rhinolophus lobatus Peters)', but any bat of the genus Rhinolophus is not a true host of Calcarmyobia. With the guidance of Mr John Edwards Hill, Mammal Section, British Museum (Natural History), the present author located 2 series of bat specimens collected by Hopkins and Jackson at Kapretwa in 1938 and 1940. As Radford's manuscript dealing with Myobia rhinolophia was received for publication on 31 October 1939, the mites had presumably been obtained from the bats caught in 1938. The bats labelled M. natalensis arenarius with BMNH 1938.5.10.10-14 and 1938.5.10.4-9 for Rhinolophus lobatus yielded a male (1984.6.12.1 1) *Supported financially by Overseas Scientific Research Grant Nos. 57041019 and 5803013 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan. Contribution No. Ac-2. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Zool.) 48(1): 15-25 Issued 28 February 1985 15
Mites of the genus Calcarmyobia (Acarina, Myobiidae) with information on the taxonomy of their host bats of the genus Miniopterus (Chiroptera, Miniopteridae)
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