Onychalges nidicola Fain and Rosa, 1982

Grootaert, Patrick, 2014, Revision of the subfamily Onychalginae Fain, 1988 (Acariformes: Pyroglyphidae) — ectoparasites of passerine birds, Zootaxa 3785 (2), pp. 175-200 : 194

Onychalges nidicola Fain and Rosa, 1982

Onychalges nidicola Fain and Rosa, 1982: 319 ; Fain 1988: 21.

Redescription. FEMALE (holotype, based on original description by Fain and Rosa [1982]). Body, excluding gnathosoma, 345 long. Idiosoma . Propodonotal shield 75 wide. Hysteronotal shield absent. Dorsal striae fine. Lengths of setae: se 180, c2 65, cp 180, c3 50, d2 and e2 30, f2 18, h2 and h3 about 200, ps1 15. Tarsi I–IV 40, 42, 57, 60. Lengths of solenidia and setae: ω1 I 26–28, ω1 II 18–19, ω 3 25–26, φ I 57 –60, φ II 70 –75, φ III 58 –63, φ IV 34 –35, σ 1 I 55–60, σ2 I 2–3, σ II 9–10, σ III 37 –39, sR III 90 –100, kT III and kT IV 36 –40.

Type material. Holotype female ( USP, not examined) from nests of Passer domesticus Linnaeus ( Passeriformes : Passeridae ), BRAZIL: São Paulo, Piracicaba, 5 June 1978, coll. A.E. Rosa; 1 female paratype ( IRSNB, completely deteriorated) with same data, 4 August 1979.

Hosts and distribution. This species is only known from nests of Passer domesticus in Brazil (São Paulo) ( Fain & Rosa 1982).

Remark. This species was briefly described (but not figured) based on two females from nests of Passer domesticus in Brazil (São Paulo) ( Fain & Rosa 1982). No further records since the original description were made. The slide with a single paratype of this species is deposited in IRSNB, but completely deteriorated.

To date, at least seven species of the Estrildidae were introduced to South America ( Clements et al. 2012). Onychalges , probably, entered to South America with introduced estrildid finches and their records in the nests of house sparrows could be accidental.