TY  - JOUR
JF  - Acarologia
T1  - Laelapidae (Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) associated with rodents in Mexico: richness and interactions
VL  - 66
IS  - Suppl
SP  - 227
EP  - 227
PY  - 2026
SN  - 0044-586X
SN  - 2107-7207
PB  - Les Amis d'Acarologia
AU  - Angel, Herrera-Mares
AU  - Carmen, Guzmán-Cornejo
AU  - Diego Nathael, Ramos-Rentería
AU  - Laura, Del Castillo-Martínez
UR  - https://doi.org/10.24349/q37o-52x2
DO  - 10.24349/q37o-52x2
DA  - 2026-07-20
ET  - 2026-07-20
KW  - Mysolaelaps
KW  - Peromyscus
KW  - Chaetodipus
KW  - Androlaelaps
KW  - Eubrachylaelaps
AB  - The order Mesostigmata comprises a highly diverse group of mites with varied lifestyles, including predators and symbionts of different invertebrate and vertebrate groups. Among the mesostigmates associated with rodents, the family Laelapidae stands out, comprising mites commonly found on the body surface and/or in the nests of these mammals. In Mexico, this family has been reported as the second richest (39 species) among rodents of the family Cricetidae. The objectives of this study were: 1) to compile published information on Laelapidae- Rodentia in Mexico, 2) determine taxonomically laelapids collected in nine states of the country and deposited in the Colección del Laboratorio de Acarología, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM (LAFC), and 3) to analyze Laelapidae- Rodentia interactions through network analysis. Systematic searches were conducted on laelapid-rodent interactions in electronic databases such as BioOne, CAB Abstracts, Clarivitate Analytics, and Google Scholar. Additionally, some faunal lists were consulted. The data were then organized into a presence-absence matrix using Microsoft Excel. A bipartite network with two types of nodes (host and laelapid species) was constructed from this data matrix. The analysis was performed using RStudio 1.4.1717 (2022) with the bipartite and igraph packages. Network-level (nestendness and modularity) and node-level (degree and betweeness) indices were calculated. Two hundred and twenty-one interactions between laelapids and rodents were recorded. Twenty-four species of laelapidae, belonging to seven genera, were recorded as being associated with 58 species of rodents, belonging to 22 genera and four families. The data came from 20 of the 32 Mexican states. The nodes with the highest degree and betweeness values were Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (34, 0.58), Eubrachylaelaps circularis (28, 0.29) Gigantolaelaps boneti (8, 0.08), Steptolaelaps liomydis (7, 0.18), and Eubrachylaelaps debilis (6, 0.004). At the network level, the nesting (7.76) and modularity (0.49) values indicate that although the network is more nested, species such as A. fahrenholzi and G. boneti prevent the formation of separate modules and maintain network connectivity. It is important to evaluate the taxonomic identity of A. fahrenholzi to determine whether the network remains nested or splits into several components. The LAFC studies expands national knowledge of laelapid-rodent interactions by reporting the genus Mysolaelaps for the first time in the country and providing the first records for eight rodent species.
ER -