Oxylipeurus tetraonis ( Grube, 1851 )

Ošlejšková, Lucie, Krištofík, Ján, Trnka, Alfréd & Sychra, Oldřich, 2021, An annotated checklist of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) from Slovakia, Zootaxa 5069 (1), pp. 1-80 : 57

Oxylipeurus tetraonis ( Grube, 1851)

Host: Tetrao urogallus Linnaeus, 1758 .

Ref.: Balát (1953, 1956, 1977); Straka (1987).

Locations: Brezno, 20 Apr. 1949; Čierny Balog, 9 May 1956 (Balát Coll., MMBC slide numbers 1324, 1325) ; Brezno, 17 Apr. 1949 ( Balát 1956); Oravská priehrada pri Námestove, 1 May 1977; Sučany, 2 May 1977; Ratkovo, 6 May 1977; Martin, 29 Oct. 1981 (Straka Coll., AKMM).

Notes: Straka (1987) recorded Lyrurus tetrix and a hybrid between T. urogallus and Lyrurus tetrix as hosts of Oxylipeurus tetraonis . It is known that T. urogallus and L. tetrix can produce hybrids in wild populations ( Kleven et al. 2020), so finding lice on such a hybrid is both unusual and interesting. However, considering that Lyrurus tetrix is a natural host of Oxylipeurus minor ( Złotorzycka, 1966) ( Price et al. 2003: 204) , the association between Oxylipeurus tetraonis and L. tetrix is most likely the result of a contamination or straggling.