Helminths of the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) in southern Italy

Helminth parasites were studied in the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, (Rodentia, Arvicolinae), in southern Italy (Calabrian region). In total, 193 C. glareolus from three different areas captured between 1982 and 2001 were examined and nine species of helminths were recovered: one trematode (Corrigia vitta), four cestodes (Taenia martis larvae, Mesocestoides sp. larvae, Paranoplocephala omphalodes, Catenotaenia henttoneni) and four nematodes (Aonchotheca annulosa, Mastophorus muris, Heligmosomoides glareoli, Syphacia petrusewiczi). This is the first record of the bank vole helminth fauna in Italy. The study of the helminth community of this host reveals no quantitative differences between sexes and habitat influences, but the data show an isolationist character of the community due to low diversity and reduced interactions between species. The geographic localization of Calabria, the limit of the range of this species in Europe, could affect the low species richness found in C glareolus in contrast with European voles (Clethrionomys spp.).