Brueelia audax (Kellogg, 1899), 2017

Bush, Sarah E., 2017, Morphological revision of the hyperdiverse Brueelia - complex (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) with new taxa, checklists and generic key, Zootaxa 4313 (1), pp. 1-443 : 53-55

Brueelia audax (Kellogg, 1899)

( Figs 70–74 )

Nirmus audax Kellogg, 1899: 25 .

Brueelia audax (Kellogg, 1899) ; Hopkins & Clay, 1952: 53.

Type host. Auriparus flaviceps (Sundevall, 1850) — verdin. Type locality. Baja California.

Other host. Auriparus flaviceps ornatus (Lawrence, 1851) — verdin.

Description. Both sexes. Head pentagonal ( Fig. 70 ). Marginal carina widely interrupted submedianly. Hyaline margin continuous with dorsal preantennal suture that follows lateral margin of head posterior to location of as1, where it turns median to reach ads. Suture not transversally continuous and dorsal anterior plate thus not separated from main head plate. Ventral anterior plate absent. Head setae as in Fig. 70 ; as3, pns, s3 absent, pos clearly ventral and submarginal. Coni short, not reaching distal margin of scapes. Gular plate broadly spade-shaped. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in Fig. 71 . Leg chaetotaxy as in genus description, except fI-p3 absent and cIv 3, fI-d1 present. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 2.

Male. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 2 and Fig. 71 . Segments VII–VIII with accessory sublateral sternal plates. Basal apodeme ( Fig. 72 ) broad, anterior margin diffuse. Proximal mesosome diffuse, broadly rounded. Gonopore ( Fig. 73 ) broad, narrowly open distally. Mesosomal lobes highly rugose distally. 2 pmes visible each mesosomal lobe. Parameral heads ( Fig. 74 ) diffusely rounded. Parameral blades roughly triangular, broad; pst1 sensillus, submarginal on median margin; pst2 seta, lateral near distal tip. Measurements ex Auriparus flaviceps ornatus (n = 3): TL = 1.23–1.36; HL = 0.34–0.35; HW = 0.35–0.36; PRW = 0.20–0.21; PTW = 0.33–0.34; AW = 0.47–0.52.

Female. Pteronotal setae undetected. Partial abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 2. Subgenital plate (not illustrated) with median reticulation, possibly without cross-piece but this cannot be seen clearly in specimens examined. Vulval margin (not illustrated) appears strongly curved in holotype, with 3 slender vms on each side and 6 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 5 long, slender vos on each side, 1 distal vos median to vss. Measurements ex Auriparus flaviceps ornatus (n = 1): TL = 1.46; HL = 0.37; HW = 0.38; PRW = 0.23; PTW = 0.36; AW = 0.57.

Type material. Ex Auriparus flaviceps : Holotype ♀, Baja California, Mexico, Nov. 1896, [J.F.] Abbott, 437A, EMEC-75, 383 ( EMEC).

Additional material examined (non-types)

Ex Auriparus flaviceps ornatus : 1♂, 25 miles S of Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, 6 Apr. 1958, C.A. Ely, CAE- 461, 15526 on reverse ( OSUS) ; 1♂, same data as previous ( NHML) ; 1♂, same data as previous except CAE-460, PIPeR #104–5 (PIPeR).

Remarks. The holotype is poorly preserved and the only female examined. It can be identified as conspecific with other material examined by us only by the shape of the pterothorax and the preantennal area. Due to the poor state of the holotype, we are unable to illustrate the female body and the vulval margin, and the measurements given here are approximate.

The type locality of this species is unclear, given simply as “Baja Calif.”, and the subspecific identity of the type host cannot be established, as three different subspecies of the host occur near Baja California: Auriparus flaviceps flaviceps (Sundevall, 1850) , A. flaviceps lamprocephalus Oberholser, 1897 , and A. flaviceps acaciarum Grinnell, 1931 .

Brueelia audax was not included in the phylogeny of Bush et al. (2016), but the structure of the male genitalia suggests a close relationship with Brueelia s. str. In our material studied, the dorsal preantennal suture continues posterior past ads towards the preantennal nodi. This section of the suture is narrower than the anterior section, and may be an artifact of mounting. We have illustrated the head with this extension. The preantennal structure and presence of accessory sternal plates in the male are unlike all other Brueelia s. str., and the leg chaetotaxy of Br. audax differs from all other Brueelia s. str. However, considering that the specimens examined are very few and poorly preserved, we tentatively include this species in Brueelia s. str. based on the male genitalia and abdominal chaetotaxy.

Figures

FIGURES 70 – 74. Brueelia audax (Kellogg, 1899) ex Auriparus flavifrons ornatus: 70, male head, dorsal and ventral views. 71, male habitus, dorsal and ventral views. 72 male genitalia, dorsal view. 73, male mesosome, ventral view. 74, male paramere, dorsal view.