Brueelia tkachi Gustafsson & Bush

Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Bush, Sarah E., 2015, Four new species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from African songbirds (Passeriformes: Sturnidae and Laniidae), Zootaxa 4013 (4), pp. 503-518 : 510-513

Brueelia tkachi Gustafsson & Bush , new species

( Figs 5–6 , 11 , 15 , 19 ; Table 1)

Type host: Spreo albicapillus albicapillus Blyth, 1856 (Sturnidae) —white-crowned starling. Type locality. Somalia.

Diagnosis. Brueelia tkachi is most similar to B. coryliventer , with which it shares the following characters: sternal and subgenital plates with moderate pigmentation in both sexes; lateral margins of preantennal head clearly convex; male abdominal segment III with 1 ps on each side; male abdominal segment IV with 2 ps on each side; female abdominal segment IV with 2 ps on each side; female subgenital plate slenderly pentagonal. These two species differ in the following characters: frons gently rounded in B. tkachi ( Fig. 19 ) but flat and angular in B. coryliventer ( Fig. 20 ); psps absent on male tergite V in B. tkachi ( Fig. 5 ) but present in B. coryliventer ( Fig. 7 ); ps absent on female abdominal segment III in B. tkachi ( Fig. 6 ) but absent in B. coryliventer ( Fig. 8 ); basal plate of B. tkachi ( Fig. 11 ) with broad, flattened anterior end, but with narrow, rounded anterior end in B. coryliventer ( Fig. 12 ); male mesosome with mf extending farther posterior and being broadly triangular in B. tkachi , but shorter and with small, rounded mf in B. coryliventer ; male parameres constricted in B. coryliventer but not constricted in B. tkachi .

Description. Head with frons gently rounded ( Fig. 19 ). Lateral margins of preantennal area converging anteriorly, slightly convex, gently rounded. Marginal carina slender. Head chaetotaxy as in Fig. 19 . Gular plate short, broad, triangular. Overall body pigmentation pale, with moderate pigmentation only on preocular nodi, flagellomeres, pedicel, proepimera, and metepisterna, sternal and subgenital plates of both sexes. Flagellomeres generally slightly darker than pedicel. Measurements as in Table 1.

Male. Thorax and abdomen as in Fig. 5 ; ps present on segment III; segment IV with 2 ps; psps absent on tergite V; segment XI with 3 setae. Male genitalia as in Fig. 11 . Basal plate broad, rectangular, narrowing slightly distally. Distal thickening of mesosome weakly sinuous, with lf and mf angular rather than round; lf much larger than mf, and reaching farther distally than mf. Parameres relatively slender, lateral margin more or less straight. Anterior sensilla of parameres not visible in single examined male.

Female. Thorax and abdomen as in Fig. 6 ; ps absent on segment III; segments IV–VII with 2 ps each. Crosspiece of subgenital plate with very narrow connection to main plate as in Fig. 15 . Vulval margin convergent to blunt median point ( Fig. 15 ), with 4–5 slender vms on each side, and 4–5 thorn-like vss on each side; 4–5 slender vos on each side; 1 distal vos median to vss on each side.

Comment. We have not examined specimens of Brueelia sensu stricto from other host species of the genus Spreo Lesson, 1831 .

Material examined. Types: Holotype ♂, Somalia (as “Somaliland”), Jan. 1949, R. Meinertzhagen, 18230 ( NHML). Paratypes: 4♀, same data as holotype ( NHML).

Etymology. We name this species in honor of Dr Vasyl Tkach (University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.A.) in recognition of his research in parasite systematics.

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 6. Brueelia tkachi n. sp. ex Spreo albicapillus albicapillus. 5, male habitus, dorsal and ventral views. 6, female habitus, dorsal and ventral views.

FIGURES 9 – 12. Male genitalia, dorsal views. 9, Brueelia clara n. sp. 10, Brueelia rigbyi n. sp. 11, Brueelia tkachi n. sp. 12, Brueelia coryliventer n. sp. Abbreviations: lf = lateral fold; mf = median fold.

FIGURES 13 – 16. Female subgenital plates and vulval margins, ventral views. 13, Brueelia clara n. sp. 14, Brueelia rigbyi n. sp. 15, Brueelia tkachi n. sp. 16, Brueelia coryliventer n. sp. Abbreviations: vms = vulval marginal setae; vos = vulval oblique setae; vss = vulval submarginal setae.

FIGURES 19 – 20. Male heads, dorsal and ventral views. 19, Brueelia tkachi n. sp. 20, Brueelia coryliventer n. sp.

FIGURES 7 – 8. Brueelia coryliventer n. sp. ex Creatophora cinerea. 7, male habitus, dorsal and ventral views. 8, female habitus, dorsal and ventral views.