Purpose: We aimed to explore the first data on the fauna of cestodes in rodents from the Lower Anabar River Basin situated in extreme north-western Yakutia, Russia and to develop a biological and biogeographical framework for examination of the species diversity of cestodes from Yakutia, which is an important faunal transition zone in the eastern Palaearctic.
Methods: Field inventory of cestodes from rodents was conducted for the first time in the region of north-western Yakutia. Species diversity, intensity and prevalence of infection were assessed.
Results: It was noted a rather high (up to 82.5%) total cestode prevalence in rodents in the extreme north-western area of Yakutia. In Arvicolinae hosts, we collected specimens of six cestode species of four genera and three families. Arostrilepis microtis and Douthittia nordenskioeldi were first collected in voles Lasiopodomys gregalis from Yakutia (new host and geographical records). The zoonotic parasite Echinococcus multilocularis was found in the liver of L. gregalis. The list of cestodes from rodents in Yakutia based on review of previous publications and the material obtained in the present study includes 24 species of 16 genera and five families. Out of these, 17 parasitise rodents as adults stage and seven as larvae.
Conclusion: The fauna of rodent tapeworms from the south subarctic tundra and pre-tundra larch woodlands of the north-western Yakutia is characterised by relatively impoverished species diversity compared to the fauna of cestodes from the taiga zone of the central Yakutia. The decrease in the species diversity of tapeworms does not affect the total infection prevalence of the definitive hosts, which is relatively high in this region.
Keywords: Arvicoline rodents; Cestodes; Helminths; Levels of infection; North-eastern Palaearctic.
© 2021. Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences.