First record of Antarctophthirus microchir (Anoplura) in the southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens) in Chile

Abstract

The ectoparasitic fauna associated to marine mammals is scarcely known in Chile. This report deals with a sample of Anoplura parasites collected from adult and juvenile Otaria flavescens, the southern sea lion, at the Los Lagos Region, Chile. The Anoplura were taxonomically determined using the existent keys and they were subsequently described. This is the first record of Antarctophthirus microchir in Chile which, together with what is already known about the geographical distribution and the world evolutionary history of the Otariidae, could represent another evidence of the monophyly of the northern and southern hemisphere Otariidae groups.