New Zealand bat flea

The New Zealand bat flea (Porribius pacificus) is a threatened species of flea endemic to New Zealand. The species was first described in 1946 from samples collected near Masterton in 1915, and from chocolate wattled bats on Pelorus Island.[1]

New Zealand bat flea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Siphonaptera
Family:
Ischnopsyllidae
Genus:
Porribius
Species:
P. pacificus
Binomial name
Porribius pacificus
Jordan, 1946[1]

It is adapted to living with the New Zealand long-tailed bat; like this bat species, the flea's closest relatives are in Australia, and its ancestor is likely to have colonised New Zealand from Australia with its host within the last 2 million years.[2] It has also been recorded as living on the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat, but these occurrences are thought to be accidental.[3]

The New Zealand bat flea was given the conservation status of "Nationally Vulnerable" by the Department of Conservation in 2015.[4]

References
Wikispecies has information related to Porribius pacificus.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Porribius pacificus.
  1. Jordan, H.E.K. (1946). "On a new genus and species of bat-fleas from the Pelorus Islands and New Zealand". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 76: 208–210.
  2. Meduna, Veronika (2007). "Bats - Lesser short-tailed bats and long-tailed bats". Te Ara – Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. Smit, F.G.A.M. (1979). "The Fleas of New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 9: 143–232. doi:10.1080/03036758.1979.10419413.
  4. Heath, Allen C.G.; Stringer, I. A. N.; Hitchmough, Rod A.; Rolfe, Jeremy (2015). "Conservation status of New Zealand fleas, 2014" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 12: 1–5. ISSN 2324-1713.


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