Description of two new species of bat fleas of the genus Araeopsylla (Siphonaptera) from Kenya and Madagascar with notes on miscellaneous bat fleas

Abstract. The flea genus Araeopsylla Jordan and Rothschild, 1921 contains nine species distributed throughout the Palaearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental Regions primarily on mollosid bats. A new species of bat flea, Araeopsylla goodmani, is described. This new species is represented by three females collected from one male specimen of the mollosid bat Chaerephon jobimena Goodman & Cardiff, 2004 from Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar. A second new species, Araeopsylla smiti, is described from one male from the Rift Valley, Kenya. It was collected from the molossid bat Chaerephon bivittatus (Heuglin, 1861). This represents the first record of Araeopsylla in Kenya. Previous records of Araeopsylla in the Malagasy region included Araeopsylla martialis (Rothschild, 1903) from Reunion Island and Madagascar. One hundred fifty-eight specimens (64♂, 94♀) of Araeopsylla martialis were collected from 67 specimens (flea intensity of 2.4 fleas per host) of Mormopterus jugularis (Peters, 1865) across three provinces of Madagascar (Fianarantosa, Toamasina, and Toliara). Mormopterus jugularis is clearly a common host for Araeopsylla martialis. Dampfia grahami grahami (Waterston, 1915) is also reported from Eptesicus matroka (Thomas & Schwann, 1905) which is the first record from this host species and the first time the genus Dampfia has been documented in Madagascar. Although Lagaropsylla consularis Smit, 1957 and Lagaropsylla idae Smit, 1957 have been reported in Madagascar previously, Mops leucostigma Allen, 1918 is a new host record for Lagaropsylla idae. The flea intensity of Lagaropsylla idae (64♂, 83♀) on 28 specimens of Mops leucostigma was extremely high at 5.3 fleas per host. A key to the genus Araeopsylla is provided.