Aulobia Kethley, 1970

Skoracki, Maciej, 2011, Quill mites (Acari: Syringophilidae) of the Palaearctic region 2840, Zootaxa 2840 (1), pp. 1-414 : 98-100

Genus Aulobia Kethley, 1970

Aulobia Kethley, 1970: 41

Type species: Syringophilus dendroicae Clark, 1964 by original designation.

Diagnosis. FEMALE. Medium to large sized syringophilids, total body length 700–1030. Gnathosoma . Hypostomal apex with 1 pair of sausage-like median protuberances. Lateral hypostomal teeth absent. Peritremes Mshaped. Movable cheliceral digit dentate, each with 2 minute teeth. Stylophore rounded or slightly constricted posteriorly. Idiosoma . Six pairs of propodonotal setae present. Propodonotal shield entire, rectangular in shape, without pocket-like structures, bearing bases of setae vi, ve, si, c1 and se. Setal pattern of propodonotal region arranged 2–1–1–2 or 3–1–2, setae c1 and se situated at same transverse level. All body setae smooth. Hysteronotal shield present fused or not to pygidial shield. Setae d1 closer to d2 than to e2. Each of pseudanal and genital setal series represented by 2 pairs. Aggenital series with 3 pairs of setae. Hysteronotal setae d1, d2 and e2 long. Terminal setae f2 and h2 long, f1 and h1 short. Legs. Legs I–IV subequal in thickness and with full complement of setae. Antaxial and paraxial members of claw pair subequal in size and shape, without basal angle. Apodemes I parallel, not fused to apodemes II.

MALE. Characters as in female except: medium sized mites, total body length 500–800; hypostomal apex without protuberances; stylophore rounded or slightly constricted posteriorly; setal pattern of propodonotal region arranged 2–1–1–1–1 or 3–1–1–1; setae c1 situated posterior to level of setae se; hysteronotal setae d1, d2 and e2 short; setae f2 short, h2 short or long; aggenital series with 2 pairs of setae; apodemes I divergent, not fused to apodemes II.

Host range. Species of this genus are associated with passerine hosts of the familes Cisticolidae , Fringillidae , Nectariniidae , Parulidae Sylviidae , and Timaliidae . In the Palaearctic region, they inhabit birds of the families Fringillidae , Sylviidae , and Timaliidae ( Table 7).

Habitat. Quills of secondary feathers.

Species included. This genus includes 11 species known from Palaearctic, Nearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian regions. At present, 4 species are known from the Palaearctic region: A. cardueli , A. leucostictus sp. nov., A. stachyris comb. nov. and A. sylviae .

Remark. Syringophilopsis faini Bochkov and Apanaskevich, 2001 syn. nov. is regarded as a junior synonym of A. sylviae Bochkov and Mironov, 1998 .