Abstract

In April 2014 and 2015, we noted localized alopecia (neck, forelimbs, and chest) and hyperpigmentation on two adult brown bears (Ursus arctos) captured in central-south Sweden for ecological studies under the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project. In spring 2015, a brown bear was shot because of human-wildlife conflict in the same region. This bear also had extensive alopecia and hyperpigmentation. Ectoparasites were collected from the affected skin areas in all three individuals and preserved in ethanol for identification. Based on morphological characteristics, the lice were identified as Trichodectes spp. and Trichodectes pinguis pinguis. To our knowledge, these are the first reported cases of chewing lice in free-ranging brown bears in Scandinavia. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology.

Published in

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
2016, Volume: 5, number: 2, pages: 134-138
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Arnemo, Jon

  • Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Hedmark University of Applied Sciences (HUAS)

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2016.02.002

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/95168