Myrsidea masoni Johnson and Price, 2006

Johnson, Kevin P. & Price, Roger D., 2006, Five new species of Myrsidea Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menopo- nidae) from bristlebills and greenbuls (Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae) in Ghana, Zootaxa 1177, pp. 27-37 : 29

Myrsidea masoni Johnson and Price , new species ( Figs. 1–6 )

Type host. Bleda eximius (Hartlaub) , the Green­tailed Bristlebill.

Male. As in Fig. 1 . Hypopharyngeal sclerites strongly developed ( Fig. 2 ); gula usually with 3 setae on each side ( Fig. 3 ), much less often 4; metasternal plate usually with 4 setae, rarely 5. Tergal setae: I, 6, rarely 7; II, 11–14; III–V, 13–20; VI, 14–17; VII, 12–15; VIII, 10–12. Postspiracular setae very long on I–VIII. Sternal setae: II, each aster of 5, rarely 4 or 6, setae, remainder with 22–31; III, 8–15; IV, 25–34; V, 30–41; VI, 28–35; VII, 12–20; VIII, 3–5. Genital sac sclerite as in Fig. 4 . Dimensions: TW, 0.41–0.43; HL, 0.27– 0.30; PW, 0.25–0.28; MW, 0.36–0.38; AWIV, 0.46–0.49; LSVII, 0.08–0.10; GL, 0.39– 0.43; TL, 1.15–1.22.

Female. Head as for male ( Figs. 1–3 ), metanotum and abdomen as in Fig. 6 . Tergites I and VIII unmodified, II–VII with medioposterior convexity. Tergal setae: I, 6; II, 9–17; III–V, 13–19; VI, 14–17; VII, 11–15; VIII, 10–11. Postspiracular setae as for male. Sternal setae: II, each aster with 5 setae, much less often 6, remainder with 20–27; III, 9–17; IV, 28–41; V, 33–43; VI, 26–39; VII, 9–15; VIII–IX with 11–15 marginal, 10–16 anterior setae. Anus with 39–45 ventral fringe setae, 30–35 dorsal. Dimensions: TW, 0.46–0.49; HL, 0.31–0.32; PW, 0.28–0.32; MW, 0.43–0.48; AWIV, 0.59–0.64; LSVII, 0.11–0.14; ANW, 0.21–0.24; TL, 1.42–1.54.

Type material. Female holotype, ex B. eximius , GHANA: Goaso , 20 March 2003, K. P. Johnson, BDM 801 . Paratypes: 5 females, 5 males, same data as holotype; 3 females, 2 males, same except JDW 569; 2 females, 4 males, same except 19 March 2003, BDM 793 ; 2 females, 2 males, same except 21 March 2003, BDM 810 ; 2 females, 2 males, same except 24 March 2003, MJM 0 61.

Other material. Ex B. canicapillus (Hartlaub) , the Grey­headed Bristlebill, 3 females, 7 males, GHANA (BDM 779, BDM 788, JDW 556, MJM 045).

Remarks. This species is characterized by the strongly developed hypopharyngeal sclerites for both sexes, the female with the highly distinctive medioposterior convexity of abdominal tergites II–VII, and the male by structure of the genital sac sclerite. While the male genital sac sclerite form is similar to that of some of the pycnonotid Myrsidea species described by Hellenthal and Price (2003), the configuration of the female tergal development is unique to M. masoni .

Etymology. This species is named for Ian Mason (CSIRO, Australian National Wildlife Collection) in recognition of his assistance in collecting lice from a wide variety of birds.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Myrsidea masoni. 1, Dorsoventral male. 2, Male hypopharynx. 3, Male gula. 4, Male genital sac sclerite. 5, Male genitalia. 6, Female metanotum and dorsoventral abdomen.