A review of the flea genus Phalacropsylla Rothschild, 1915 (Siphonaptera, Ctenophthalmidae, Neopsyllinae, Phalacropsyllini) with new host and distributional records
Author
Acosta, Roxana
Author
Hastriter, Michael W.
text
ZooKeys
2017
675
27
43
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.675.12347
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.675.12347
1313-2970-675-27
837246B195C74CADB21B5CE91E1F5E3E
Phalacropsylla paradisea Rothschild, 1915
Phalacropsylla paradisea
Rothschild, 1915: 39; Ewing & Fox, 1943: 85; Costa Lima and Hathaway, 1946: 184; Hubbard, 1947: 339-340;
Jellison et al., 1953
: 613; Allred, 1968: 71 (misidentified, see
P. oregonensis
); Lewis, 1974: 153; Hopkins & Rothschild, 1966: 300; Baird & Saunders, 1992: 9 (misidentified, see
P. oregonensis
);
Fagerlund et al., 2001
: 95; Acosta & Morrone, 2013: 334.
Phalacropsylla hamata
Tipton & Mendez, 1968: 184-187; Lewis, 1974: 153; Eads & Maupin, 1982: 96-99; Adams & Lewis, 1995: 68; Ponce-Ulloa & Llorente-Bousquets, 1996: 558;
Fagerlund et al., 2001
: 95;
Ford et al., 2004
: 23, 29, 47. Syn. n.
Diagnosis.
Males of
P. paradisea
and
P. nivalis
each possess a deep sinus on the ventral margin of the basimere (at least as deep as wide) that separates both from other species of
Phalacropsylla
. Further separated from
P. nivalis
by the presence of long modified spiniform setae on DA9 which are absent in
P. nivalis
(Figs 3, 5). See diagnostic features of females for
P. oregonensis
above.
Material Examined.
Mexico: Nuevo
Leon
, Cerro
Potosi
, 3050 m, rodent nest, 20 IV 1964, V.J. Tipton et al.,
P. hamata
holotype ♂ (USNM). USA: Arizona, Apache County,
Neotoma mexicana
, 13 XI 1973, W. Begay, 1♂ (USNM). Cochise County, China Point, Dragoon Mts.,
Neotoma stephensi
Say and Ord nest, 1 X 1993, G.E. Haas, 1♂; China Point, Dragoon Mts., 19 VI 1994, G.E. Haas, 1♂, 1♀; Chiracahua, nr Paradise,
N. albigula
nest, 23 IX 1989, G.E. Haas, 8♂, 14♀; Dragoon Mts.,
N. albigula
nest, 26 IX 1989, G.E. Haas, 1♂; Paradise Cemetary, Chiracahua Mts.,
N. albigula
nest, 19 X 1994, G.E. Haas, 1♂, 5♀ (BYUC); Paradise,
Mus
sp., XI 1912, O.C. Duffner, 1♀, R. Traub no. B-1330 (CMNH); Paradise,
Mus
sp., IX 1913, O.C. Duffner, 1♂ lectotype; Paradise,
Epimys
sp. =
Rattus
sp., XI 1913, O.C. Duffner, 2♀ paralectotype; Paradise,
Mus
sp., 12 III 1913, O.C. Duffner, 2♂ paralectotypes; Paradise, "civit cat", 10 IX 1913, O.C. Duffner, 1♀ paralectotype (BMNH). Coconino County, Bixler Mt.,
N. mexicana
, 23 IX 1993, G.E. Haas, 3♂, 4♀; Williams,
Neotoma
nest, 13 IX 1981, G.E. Haas, 1♂, 2♀; Ben Williams,
Neotoma
nest, 20 IX 1981, G.E. Haas, 1♀; Site W-3, NNW Williams,
N. stephensi
nest, 16 X 1989, G.E. Haas, 3♂, 1♀; SE Flagstaff,
Neotoma
nest, 19 XII 1981, G.E. Haas, 3♂, 3♀; Haulapai, host unknown, I 1986, G.E. Haas, 3♂, 5♀ (BYUC). Graham County, Pinaleno Mts., host unknown, 18 V 1990, G.E. Haas, 2♂, 2♀; Pinaleno Mts., vole nest, 20 X 1990, G.E. Haas, 11♂, 10♀; Shannon Park, Pinaleno Mts.,
N. mexicana
nest, 10 XI 1989, G.E. Haas, 1♀; Stockton Pass, Pinaleno Mts., host unknown, 22 XI 1989, G.E. Haas, 1♀; data missing except leg. G.E. Haas, Pinaleno Mts., 1♀ (BYUC). Greenlee County,
Dipodomys merriami
Mearns 16 XI 1938, 1♂, 1♀ (CMNH), 1♂, 1♀ (USNM). Navajo County, north of Show Low,
N. albigula
nest, 30 IX 1989, G.E. Haas, 2♂, 1♀ (BYUC). Colorado, Montezuma County, Mesa Verde National Park,
Peromyscus truei
(Shufedit), 20 X 1961, C. Douglas, 3♂, same data except 25 X 1961, 1♀, 26 X 1961, 2♂, 3♀, 24 XI 1961, 1♂, P.
truei
/
maniculatus
, 13 X 1961, 1♀ (BYUC). New Mexico, Bernalillo County,
N. albigula
, 20 II 1981, Curt Montman, 1♂; same data except 4 XI 1981, 1♀ (USNM, previously identified as
P. hamata
); Catron County, Ben Lilly camp ground, Mogollon Mts.,
N. mexicana
nest, 23 IX 1991, G.E. Haas, 2♂, 1♀; Snow Canyon,
N. mexicana
nest, 28 IX 1996, G.E. Haas, 15♂, 18♀; Bear Wallow,
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
(Erxleben) nest, 1 X 1998, G.E. Haas, 1♀ (BYUC). Guadalupe County, 6.5 km S of Santa Rosa,
N. albigula
, 9 X 1951, 1♂ (USNM). Hi
dalgo
County, Peloncillo Mts.,
N. albigula
nest, 23 III 92, G.E. Haas, 1♀; Peloncillo Mts.,
N. albigula
nest, 24 III 92, G.E. Haas, 1♀; the Pass, Peloncillo Mts.,
N. albigula
nest, 25 III 92, G.E. Haas, 3♂, 10♀ (BYUC). Texas, Brewster County, Big Bend National Park, 1737 m,
Peromyscus pectoralis
Osgood ♂, 2 XI 1963, V. J. Tipton et al., 2♀ (BYUC).
Remarks.
Tipton and Mendez (1968) described
P. hamata
from one male from Cerro
Potosi
, Nuevo
Leon
, Mexico.
Eads and Maupin (1982)
described the female of
P. hamata
from two specimens collected from Bernalillo County, New Mexico and considered an additional four males as
P. hamata
. These were collected from
Peromyscus leucopus
(Rafinesque) and
N. albigula
. With the recent accession of the Glenn E. Haas flea collection (now part of the BYUC), many specimens of
Phalacropsylla
were available for study from the vast areas of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. These specimens were identified as either
P. hamata
or
P. paradisea
. While studying this material, it was impossible to distinguish females accurately from one or the other. To date, males have been distinguished primarily by the presence of various numbers of long spiniform setae on the apico-ventral margin of the distal arm of S-IX. The diagnosis of the male of
P. hamata
provided by Tipton and Mendez (1968) included: 1) A deep sinus in the caudal margin of the immovable process of the clasper (basimere), 2) four long bristles on the apical and subapical portion of basimere, 3) two hook-like spiniform setae near the apex of the distal arm of S-IX, and 4) the bifid portion of the proximal arm of S-IX as angulate. The sinus on the caudal margin of the basimere, long bristles on the apex of basimere, the number of hook-like spiniform setae present at the apex of the distal arm of S-IX, and shape of the bifid portion of proximal arm of S-IX, each proved to be quite variable within series from the same study sites and even among specimens from the same host. Based on these comparative studies, we concluded that
P. hamata
is not a valid species and consider it to be a junior synonym of
P. paradisea
.
Phalacropsylla paradisea
is representative of the genus in the southern portion of its distribution with records ranging from central Arizona, southern Colorado, through New Mexico, Texas, and into northern Mexico.
Phalacropsylla nivalis
is the only species occurring further south than
P. paradisea
. Although
P. allos
is the most commonly collected species of
Phalacropsylla
,
P. paradisea
has been collected from a much more diverse group of rodent host species (n = 10) (Table 1).
During studies on plague in the Western United States by the U.S. Army in the mid-1970s, the junior author (MWH) identified two specimens (previously unreported) of
P. paradisea
that were collected on
N. albigula
(one specimen among 37 hosts examined) and
Peromyscus boylii
(Baird) (one from 10 hosts examined) from Fort Huachuca, Cochise County, Arizona. Although the whereabouts of these two specimens are unknown, they are documented in unpublished reports of the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency-Regional Division West, Aurora, Colorado.
In the latter years of his life, Dr. Glenn Haas concentrated his studies on the fleas in nests of small mammals, primarily the nests of
Neotoma
and arboreal
Tamiasciurus
. He placed the nests in breathable paper grocery bags, maintained humidity with moist paper towels, and meticulously hand-picked the emerging adult fleas over a
period
of weeks and months. Thus many of his mounted specimens were teneral and often not yet expanded from their recent pupal state. These
"rearing"
studies document the importance of species of
Neotoma
, particularly
N. albigula
, as the primary hosts of
P. paradisea
.