Rallicola minhaensis ( Kellogg & Chapman, 1902 )

Jarayseh, Bashar, Amaya, Maria & Gustafsson, Daniel R., 2023, Review of the chewing louse fauna of the invasive common myna (Acridotheres tristis), with new records from Palestine and a redescription of Brueelia chayanh Ansari, 1955 (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Brueelia-complex), Zootaxa 5383 (3), pp. 325-351 : 344

Rallicola minhaensis ( Kellogg & Chapman, 1902)

Nirmus minhaensis Kellogg & Chapman, 1902: 157 .

Type host. Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) —common myna. In error.

Type locality. Lahaina, Maui Island , Hawai’i, United States .

Remarks: Rallicola minhaensis was described from a single female collected in Hawai’i. Hopkins & Clay (1952: 320) considered that the host record was probably an error, and the lack of subsequent reports of any species of Rallicola from A. tristis supports this statement. The natural and regular host of R. minhaensis is unknown, but Kellogg & Chapman (1902) also reported lice from Fulica alai Peale, 1848 , and this coot may be the natural host of R. minhaensis . Kellogg & Chapman (1902: 160) reported Rallicola advenus ( Kellogg, 1896) (as Oncophorus advena ) from F. alai , but R. advenus is known from Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 ( Price et al. 2003: 228). Therefore, further louse collections from F. alai need to be compared with the type specimen of R. minhaensis to clarify its taxonomic status. Regardless of the identity of R. minhaensis , Acridotheres tristis is not a natural and regular host of any species of Rallicola .