Ectoparasitism in black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in southeastern Madagascar

We documented ectoparasites found on wild black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in the southeastern rain forests of Madagascar and describe trends in parasitism. In this study, 235 mesostigmatid mites (1 male, 87 females, 147 nymphs) identified as Liponyssella sp., in the acarine family Macronyssidae, were collected during 87% (34/39) of lemur examinations (mean number/host=7.9). The only other ectoparasite collected was the louse fly (Allobosca crassipes; 3 males, 8 females) in the dipteran family Hippoboscidae, which was collected during 26% (10/39) of lemur examinations (mean num-ber/host=1.1). The lemur most heavily parasitized by mites was an adult female with 29 adult females and 17 nymphs, all collected from the face.