| bat flies (diptera: nycteribiidae and streblidae) infesting cave-dwelling bats in gabon: diversity, dynamics and potential role in polychromophilus melanipherus transmission. | evidence of haemosporidian infections in bats and bat flies has motivated a growing interest in characterizing their transmission cycles. in gabon (central africa), many caves house massive colonies of bats that are known hosts of polychromophilus dionisi parasites, presumably transmitted by blood-sucking bat flies. however, the role of bat flies in bat malaria transmission remains under-documented. | 2016 | 27286888 |
| genetic diversity and ecology of coronaviruses hosted by cave-dwelling bats in gabon. | little research on coronaviruses has been conducted on wild animals in africa. here, we screened a wide range of wild animals collected in six provinces and five caves of gabon between 2009 and 2015. we collected a total of 1867 animal samples (cave-dwelling bats, rodents, non-human primates and other wild animals). we explored the diversity of covs and determined the factors driving the infection of covs in wild animals. based on a nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, only ba ... | 2020 | 32355260 |
| the morphology of the intestine of the entomophagous longfingered bat, miniopterus inflatus: mucosal topography and possible landmarks. | the intestinal tract of the longfingered bat, miniopterus inflatus, was studied macroscopically, with the light microscope and the scanning electron microscope. the intestine comprised a small mass of coiled loops contained in a rather small abdominal cavity. macroscopically, the stomach was of the simple type and the intestine was a short convoluted tube whose diameter decreased craniocaudally. a caecum, an appendix and a colon were absent and the only portion of the large intestine observed wa ... | 1997 | 9199698 |
| the chiropteran haemosporidian polychromophilus melanipherus: a worldwide species complex restricted to the family miniopteridae. | this paper attempts to expand on the current knowledge regarding the evolutionary history of bat haemosporidian parasites. using modern molecular tools as adjuncts to existing morphological descriptions, our understanding of the diversity of these parasites is discussed. the biogeography and host range distribution together with possible host-parasite interactions remain to be evaluated in more detail. using a nested-pcr cytochrome b mitochondrial gene approach, we established a screening progra ... | 2012 | 22721902 |
| stereological methods for estimating the functional surfaces of the chiropteran small intestine. | a tissue sampling protocol has been devised for studying the functional surfaces of chiropteran small intestine and drawing comparisons within and between species. the goal was to obtain minimally biased stereological estimates of villous and microvillous surface areas and the numbers of microvilli. the approach is illustrated using the intestines of 3 bats (from frugivorous and entomophagous groups) and is based on the use of vertical sections and cycloid test arcs. a sampling scheme with 3 lev ... | 1995 | 7591999 |
| a stereological comparison of villous and microvillous surfaces in small intestines of frugivorous and entomophagous bats: species, inter-individual and craniocaudal differences. | the extents of functional surfaces (villi, microvilli) have been estimated at different longitudinal sites, and in the entire small intestine, for three species of bats belonging to two feeding groups: insect- and fruit-eaters. in all species, surface areas and other structural quantities tended to be greatest at more cranial sites and to decline caudally. the entomophagous bat (miniopterus inflatus) had a mean body mass (coefficient of variation) of 8.9 g (5%) and a mean intestinal length of 20 ... | 1997 | 9343854 |