Fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) of Peru: A Review of Their Diversity and the Host Specificity in the Country

Abstract

In the Neotropical biogeographic region, there are about 290 known species and subspeciesof fleas, which have as their main hosts to the rodent subfamily Sigmodontinae. In Peru, more than22 years have passed since the last list of known flea species was published. This study presents areview and update of the fleas recorded in Peru from 1908 to 2024. This list contains informationon the flea species, including their known hosts, the localities in Peru where they were reported,the main references and some comments. In addition, the specificity of flea–host interactions wasassessed using an interaction network approach. In the literature review, 86 flea species were founddistributed among 9 families, 34 genera and 19 subspecies. These fleas were recorded parasitizingat least71 species of mammals and birds (14 orders, 28 families, 54 genera), 15 reported only at thegenera level and seven undetermined ones. The flea–host interaction network exhibited a modularstructure, indicating that these interactions tend to be specialized. A sigmodontine rodent (Akodonmollis) and a Rhopalopsyllidae flea (Polygenis litargus) were highly connected across modules and theoverall network, and thus were important to maintain the structure. This review contributes to theknowledge of fleas in Peru, synthesizing the scattered information and providing information on theinteraction they have with their hosts.