New record of a phoretic flea associated with earwigs (Dermaptera, Arixeniidae) and a redescription of the bat flea (Siphonaptera, Ischnopsyllidae).

(Wahlgren, 1903), previously known only from the Island of Java, Indonesia is redescribed and reported for the first time in Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (west coast of Borneo). Many were found clinging to the earwig Jordan, 1909. A similar account of a phoretic flea ( Smit, 1958) on the same species of cave-dwelling earwig has been reported in peninsular Malaysia in a well-documented association with the hairless naked bulldog bat, Horsfield, 1824. The association of with is parallel to the evolution and co-existence with bats in Deer Cave just as in the case of , , and . The evidence suggests that and are obligate phoretic parasites whose survival depends on to access a bat host. is reported for the first time in Deer Cave and the occurrence of on the island of Borneo represented a new record, previously being found only on the island of Java. Images of attached to are provided. (Burr, 1912), often associated with in other geographical areas, was not present in the material examined from Deer Cave. The natural history of the earwig genera Jordan, 1909 and Maa, 1974 are discussed and summarized relative to their associations with phoretic fleas and their bat hosts.