First records of bat ectoparasites from Chrea National Park, Algeria, with notes on guano-based endoparasite traces

Field sampling was conducted in the Chiffa tunnel area of the El Hamdania sector within Chrea National Park (CNP), Algeria.A total of twenty bats were captured and examined for ectoparasite infestations.Additionally, coprological analysis of guano was performed to investigate the possible presence of traces of internal parasites, subject to the methodological limitations described herein.The captured bats belonged to two distinct families.The family Rhinolophidae included Rhinolophus blasii (Peters, 1866), represented by 18 individuals, and the greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774), represented by a single individual.The family Vespertilionidae was represented by Nyctalus leisleri (Khl, 1817), also by a single individual; this constitutes the first documented record of this species in CNP.Examination of ectoparasites from 19 rhinolophid bats identified three dipteran ectoparasite species.Brachytarsina (Brachytarsina) flavipennis Macquart, 1851 (Streblidae) was the most prevalent (66.7%), followed by Phthiridium biarticulatum Hermann, 1804 and Nycteribia schmidlii Schiner, 1853 (Nycteribiidae), each at 16.7%.The study documents, for the first time in Algeria, N. schmidlii parasitizing R. blasii.Coprological analysis of guano revealed the presence of structures belonging to three phyla; these data are preliminary and should be interpreted with caution.The findings contribute to knowledge of chiropteran ectoparasite-host associations in North Africa and highlight CNP as a significant locality for bat biodiversity.