ECTOPARASITE FAUNA OF THE EASTERN WOODRAT, NEOTOMA-FLORIDANA - COMPOSITION, ORIGIN, AND COMPARISON WITH ECTOPARASITE FAUNAS OF WESTERN WOODRAT SPECIES

We collected ectoparasites from eastern woodrats, Neotoma floridana , from 3 sites in the southeastern United States: coastal South Carolina , southeast Georgia, and south-central Georgia. Twelve ectoparasite sp ecies were recovered from 47 woodrats in South Carolina (5 ticks, 5 mi tes, 2 fleas), 13 from 35 woodrats in south-central Georgia(1 tick, 10 miles,2 fleas), and 4 from a small host sample 171 in southeast Georg ia (2 ticks, 1 mite, 1 flea). New state records are established for th e listrophorid mite Listrophorus neotomae from both Georgia and South Carolina, the myocoptid mite Myocoptes neotomae from Georgia, and the ceratophyllid flea Orchupeas sexdentatus pennsylvanicus from South Car olina. Different ectoparasites predominated on woodrats at each sire w ith the tick Ixodes minor being the most commonly collected species in South Carolina, the American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis in south east Georgia, and the chigger Euschoengastia peromysci in south-centra l Georgia. Most of the 17 species recovered are known to parasitize se veral species of mammals, especially rodents, and none of them are hos t specific to N. floridana. However, the fleas Epitedia cavernicola an d Epitedin neotomae are host-specific ectoparasites of eastern woodrat s in other parts of their range. Also, 1 species of tick, 2 mites, and 3 fleas parasitize eastern woodrats in addition to western woodrats. A similar lack of host specificity is apparent: for the few previously documented collections of ectoparasites from eastern woodrats, includ ing 1 detailed survey in Indiana. Conversely, Neotoma spp, woodrats in habiting western North America are parasitized by a plethora of host-s pecific ectoparasites including 2 tick species, 5 mites (other than ch iggers), 20 chiggers, 2 sucking Lice, and 42 fleas. Recognizing that w estern biotas are typically more speciose than corresponding eastern b iotas in North America, we further propose that because eastern woodra ts are the most recent and eastern descendants of the ancestral Neotom a stock, (1) some ectoparasite species failed to accompany the eastern woodrat lineage in its eastward dispersals, and (2) there has been in sufficient time for a diverse assemblage of ectoparasites to co-evolve with eastern woodrats.